ALL EYES AND EARS ARE ON CORN FARMERS. WHAT ARE YOU SAYING AND DOING?

Jul 27, 2012  |  Today's News

You may be tired of talking about the drought and looking at its impacts on your farm, but that doesn’t mean other people are. In the national and international media, the drought story is progressing beyond your farm gate and into the policy arena. As Congress moves toward a conference committee on the 2012 Farm Bill, be aware that what you’re saying and doing might very impact what the next farm bill looks like.

The Illinois Corn Growers Association remains responsive to its members’ desires by making a revenue-based safety net and an improved crop insurance program the cornerstones of our 2012 Farm Bill wish-list. ICGA has gained a lot of ground on your behalf in this work. But critical eyes are now turned to the Farm Bill program as people on the outside are hearing people on the inside discuss these matters in the perspective of the drought in ways that seem unflattering when taken out of context.

For example, how do you think this comment makes the federal crop insurance program look to someone who knows nothing more than this? “I’m going to make out like a bandit with my crop insurance this year!”

We know that there are many people that don’t choose to insure their crops because they don’t anticipate the need to make claims. At the same time, we know that the farmers that will actually “make” money because of the drought are few and far between. WE know the context of this discussion. OTHERS do not.

Remember, we live in a fast-food style world of information. Adding context to a story DURING the discussion is much easier than trying to add it back in later.