Crop Insurance Today August 2016 - 5

spending on farmers was "very important" when compared to polling work done two years ago. Of course, it's not that surprising since the survey also unveiled that eight in 10 Americans believe that a strong, thriving farming industry is a critical component of the country's security. (See Figure 2.) This support is not just limited to the abstract of "helping farmers" because it is a sympathetic group. When given a description of the current crop insurance program, 79 percent of respondents support it. Support remains high even when tested against a common argument used by crop insurance opponents. After hearing the accusation that "our nation's food is grown by farming corporations that can easily afford crop insurance premiums without taxpayer money" or "special treatment," crop insurance still came out on top by a two-to-one margin. That same choice was presented during the 2014 poll, too, and it had a similar split in favor of crop insurance. Not every question asked this year was a repeat from past work. For example, the 2016 survey also shed valuable light on the design of crop insurance: * Voters think farmers and taxpayers are better served by insurance delivered by the private sector, rather than the federal government, by a more than 20-point margin; and, * More than two-thirds think it is a good idea to have farmers contribute their own money to help fund the farm safety net. Again, this is positive news since private-sector delivery and cost sharing are at the heart of the crop insurance system, where farmers pay a portion of their insurance premiums and shoulder, on average, 25 percent of crop losses through deductibles. Those polled were impressed, and the vast majority agreed that the current premium (Figure 3) and deductible amounts (Figure 4) absorbed by farmers were appropriate. Bottom line: Agriculture appears to be one of the rare highlights where Congress found a solution that voters are overwhelmingly happy with, which should bode well for rural America as lawmakers begin charting a policy course for agriculture's future. Jon McHenry is vice president of North Star Opinion Research, a national public opinion research firm located in Alexandria, VA. The national phone survey, which was commissioned by the National Crop Insurance Services has a margin of error of 3.1 percent and can be accessed at www.cropinsuranceinamerica.org/ wp-content/uploads/Crop-Insurance-Public-Opinion-Poll.pdf. Figure 3. More than two-thirds of voters say farmers pay either too much or the right amount for crop insurance. Farmers currently pay about forty percent of their crop insurance premiums. Do you think the percentage paid by farmers sounds too high, about right, or too low? n Too High 42% 26% n About Right 44% 37% 20% All 25% n Too Low 25% Republicans 26% 43% 23% Independents 28% 14% Democrats Figure 4. Similarly, voters think the amount of loss sustained before payments are made is "about right." Farmers, on average, absorb the first twenty-five percent of a loss before receiving a payment from the crop insurance program. Does this amount sound too high, about right, or too low? n Too High 59% 20% 21% n Too Low 62% 58% 13% All n About Right 15% Republicans 19% 60% 14% Independents 22% 11% Democrats CROPINSURANCE TODAY® 5 http://www.cropinsuranceinamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/Crop-Insurance-Public-Opinion-Poll.pdf http://www.cropinsuranceinamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/Crop-Insurance-Public-Opinion-Poll.pdf http://www.cropinsuranceinamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/Crop-Insurance-Public-Opinion-Poll.pdf

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crop Insurance Today August 2016