Crop Insurance Today Second Quarter 2020 - 35

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farmers in maintaining their coverage while at
the same time protecting key program dates and
deadlines to ensure the integrity of the crop insurance program.
The latter lyrics of Mr. Rundgren's version of
the "Nail" speak of the "Man at the Forge."

"What's all this talk about horses and war?
Put yourself in the place of the man at the forge..."
For those of us in agriculture, and crop insurance in particular, our work has become highly
crystallized. Agriculture and insurance have both
been designated as "Critical Infrastructure." This
designation obviously carries a great deal of responsibility, and for certain of those in our industry, a degree of personal health risk, especially for
agents and adjusters.
And all of us have a role to play.
As we have previously noted, there are approximately 12,000 agents, 5,000 adjusters, and
2,000 company staff throughout the U.S. working
in crop insurance. The crop insurance industry
agents and adjusters who serve on the front lines
with the farm community represent "...the man
(or people) at the forge..."as it were. On a daily basis, agents and adjusters are working with the nation's farmers to make sure, that as agents, farmers have the proper risk management tools in
place, and as adjusters, that in the event of a loss,
farmers' indemnities are paid timely and fairly.
Admittedly, insurance is not glamorous, but just
like the "nail" in the horse's hoof, insurance plays
an essential role in the farm sector. And we need
agents and adjusters "at the forge" making sure
the job gets done.
Because as the song goes, if the system
breaks down....

"...everybody's kickin'
everybody's scratchin'
everything seems to fail
And it was all for the want of nail...."
So, with that, I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation on behalf of
the NCIS membership to all of those involved
in production agriculture working at the "forge"
ensuring that our nation's food supply is safe
and secure.
I believe most of us in agriculture will not
soon forget the devastating flooding, bomb cyclones, wildfires, and many other natural disasters that occurred in 2019. Between Mother Nature and trade disruptions, last year was
definitely one for the record books, and not in a

good way. In this issue of TODAY® we feature a
comprehensive look at 2019 in the annual "Year
in Review" article. Please do not be daunted by
its length; it is an excellent summary of the planting conditions, commodity markets, and weather
events that took place in agriculture and crop insurance last year.
Also, in this issue is an article on the industry
annual convention which featured presentations
by Reps. Michael Conaway and G.T. Thompson,
RMA Administrator, Martin Barbre, political
commentator David Wasserman, and Dr. Ashley Hungerford from the USDA Office of Chief
Economist, along with other great speakers and
panels. At the convention, we thanked then NCIS
Chairman, Jim Korin, for his years of service as
Chair of the NCIS Board of Directors and welcomed Kendall Jones as the incoming Chair. We
highlight these two great leaders in the "Passing

the Gavel" article found on page 36.
We are also beginning a new feature series of
articles entitled What's Growing On, which will
be written by NCIS agronomists Dr. James Houx
and Mark Zarnstorff. You can find Dr. Houx's
first article on page 38.
And last, but not least, we introduce you to
the winners of the industry achievement awards
who have helped make crop insurance the successful and effective risk management tool it is
today for America's farmers and ranchers.
Again, as this issue goes to print, we do not
know exactly how the pandemic will play out.
I do believe we will persevere and ultimately
overcome but it will take all of us working together, which is something we have done in the
past and will continue to do so in the future. As
we say a lot these days in the virtual NCIS office,
"be safe, stay safe."

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Crop Insurance Today Second Quarter 2020

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