Crop Insurance Today November 2012 - (Page 1)

TODAYPRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Remains the Same 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. The Song TODAY is published quarterly–February, May, August, and November by National Crop Insurance Services 8900 Indian Creek Parkway, Suite 600 Overland Park, Kansas 66210 www.ag-risk.org 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. This final 2012 issue of TODAYTM magazine was written and prepared prior to the outcome of the 2012 Presidential election and is obviously released for publication after the election. So, for good or bad that leaves my last rambling diatribe of the year much like “. . . the papers lie there helplessly in a pile outside my door.. . I just can’t remember what they’re for. . ..” Even though 2012 has seemed much akin to “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride,” the end of 2012 leaves us in much the same situation as the beginning of 2012. At its outset, we were starting the year without a Farm Bill. As we go to press it seems likely that we will end the year without a Farm Bill. At Tom Zacharias, NCIS President the outset of 2012, we found ourselves working with the current Administration on various program issues and recovering from record drought conditions in the Southern Plains. Well, the election is over, and the Administration has been reelected. Undoubtedly there will be some new faces, but we can expect leadership and direction to remain largely unchanged. As we close 2012, we have experienced another record-breaking drought—this time in the Midwest. So as we close 2012, and head for 2013, it seems to me, “. . . the Song Remains the Same. . . ” (I will leave it to our “Retro” listeners to figure out the origin of the title quote—actually a softball toss). So, what does remain the same? 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 Charles Lee, General Counsel James M. Crist, CFO/COO Frank Schnapp, Senior Vice President Mike Sieben, Senior Vice President Creative Layout and Design by Graphic Arts of Topeka, Inc., Kansas Our strengths remain the same. The crop insurance program has an inherent set of strengths that we have discussed here and elsewhere on numerous occasions. These were in the February 2011 issue of TODAYTM. I will not repeat them all here, but summarize them in three essential categories: 1) individualized crop insurance choices and responsibilities for today’s modern grower; 2) an efficient private delivery system that has contributed to increased participation and timely delivery of indemnity payments; and, 3) an effective public-private partnership that reduces taxpayer exposure to agricultural disasters and an institutional framework that can adapt to the changing needs of modern agriculture. Our accomplishments remain the same. First, consider the continued success we experience in program participation. In terms of both liability and acreage, the Crop Insurance Industry continues to achieve high levels of participation. For 2011, total liability was approximately $114 billion. Currently, RMA’s Summary of Business reports 2012 liability in excess of $116 billion. In 2011, approximately 266 million acres were insured. For 2012, a record 281 million acres are currently covered by some form of crop insurance. Do not forget our crop-hail business Continued on page 40 Printed on recycled paper. CROP INSURANCE TODAY® 1 http://www.ag-risk.org http://www.ag-risk.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crop Insurance Today November 2012

The Song Remains the Same
2012 Farm Bill Debate -- Crop Insurance Takes Center Stage
Step 7: Developing and Testing Transitional Plans
Vermont Orchard Depends on Crop Insurance
Jim Deal Receives Orville L. Freeman Award
Charles "Chuck" Lee Joins NCIS
Drought & Adjuster Education is Video Shoot Focus
1890 Scholarship Recipients
In Memory of Brian J. Laird

Crop Insurance Today November 2012