Crop Insurance Today November 2011 - (Page 1)

TODAYPRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Primum Laurie Langstraat, Editor TODAY IS PROVIDED AS A SERVICE OF NATIONAL CROP INSURANCE SERVICES® TO EDUCATE READERS ABOUT THE RISK MANAGEMENT TOOLS PRODUCERS USE TO PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM THE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH PRODUCTION AGRICULTURE. Non Nocere TODAY is published quarterly–February, May, August, and November by National Crop Insurance Services 8900 Indian Creek Parkway, Suite 600 Overland Park, Kansas 66210 If you move, or if your address is incorrect, please send old address label clipped from recent issue along with your new or corrected address to Laurie Langstraat, Editor, at the above address. NCIS Website: http://www.ag-risk.org NCIS® EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Steve Rutledge, Chairman Ted Etheredge, Vice Chairman Tim Weber, Second Vice Chairman NCIS® MANAGEMENT Thomas P. Zacharias, President P. John Owen, General Counsel James M. Crist, CFO/COO Frank F. Schnapp, Senior Vice President Mike Sieben, Senior Vice President Creative Layout and Design by Graphic Arts of Topeka, Inc., Kansas Winner of The Golden ARC Award Printed on recycled paper. Primum Non Nocere, as they say in the Latin, translates as “First, do no harm.” I am not exactly sure when this President’s message will hit the street, but I know as we go to press that both House and Senate Ag Committees and their staffs have been working feverishly preparing Farm Bill options for the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. Our Congressional leadership and their staffs should be applauded for their efforts to reconcile the difficult choices we face as a nation, and the implications of these choices on U.S. agriculture. The past several weeks have seen a flurry of Farm Bill activity in preparation for the Tom Zacharias, NCIS President statutory deadlines facing the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. We have known this was coming, so in one sense, the flurry of activity and “Inside the Beltway” turbulence simply met expectations. The news at this stage is a fragilely negotiated reduction of approximately $23 billion to Agriculture’s baseline. This will no doubt be old news by the time this issue of TODAY is published. However, as we in the crop insurance industry attempt to understand these options, and respond to them, the fundamental maxim of medical ethics, “First, Do No Harm,” should be our guiding metric. So, what exactly does one mean by “primim non nocere” in the context of crop insurance’s increasing role in agricultural policy? Throughout the 2011 crop season, we have reiterated time and time again the “Essential Strengths of Crop Insurance.” These twelve “essential strengths” define the attributes of the current crop insurance delivery system and include the following: 1) Producers share in program costs. 2) Producers take personal responsibility for their risk management choices. 3) Producers can individualize their risk management strategies. 4) Producers receive indemnities in a timely fashion. 5) The Crop Insurance Program is self-correcting and can be quickly adjusted. 6) Payments are not in excess of losses. 7) Protection can be used as collateral for loans. 8) Crop Insurance complements pre-harvest marketing strategies. 9) Producers are not subject to payment limitations. 10) Producers benefit from the efficiencies of private sector delivery. 11) Crop Insurance can be compatible with World Trade Organization requirements. 12) The Crop Insurance Industry has contributed significantly to deficit reduction. These characteristics of the crop insurance industry have served us well, particularly during the 2011 season which has seen extensive early-season flooding in the Midwest Continued on page 38 CROP INSURANCE TODAY® 1 http://www.ag-risk.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crop Insurance Today November 2011

Primum Non Nocere
Systematic Risk: Crop Insurance in Retrospect and Prospect
The State of U.S. Livestock Insurance
Crop Insurance in 2020
Dr. Wally Nelson Receives Siehl Prize
High Temperature Effects on Corn: How high is to high?
Educating Adjusters for Over Three Decades
On the Road

Crop Insurance Today November 2011