Illinois and Midwestern Farmers Are Overcharged on Crop Insurance, Say Durbin, Duckworth, Budzinski, Sorensen, Call for USDA to Recalculate and Provide Refunds
As farmers face sky-high costs, the lawmakers say USDA Risk Management Agency must rebalance premium costs and refund Illinois and Midwestern farmers SPRINGFIELD – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), along with U.S. Representatives Eric Sorensen (D-IL-17) and Nikki Budzinski (D-IL-13), both members of the House Agriculture Committee, today sent a letter to the Administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Risk Management Agency, calling for a review of the Federal Crop Insurance Program to rebalance payments for farmers that are routinely overcharged for federal crop insurance premiums. While the Federal Crop Insurance Act requirescrop insurance premiums to roughly equal the indemnity payouts over the long term, Illinois corn and soybean farmers have been systemically overcharged for crop insurance premiums as they rank among the lowest in the nation for crop insurance payouts. “Farmers face record costs for farm inputs, including diesel, fertilizer, seed, and equipment. As policymakers explore options for relief, we ask USDA to begin a targeted review as soon as possible of the counties and crops that have consistently been overcharged in the Federal Crop Insurance Program, and
