Crop Insurance

Crop insurance in the United States is a federally subsidized, privately administered program that provides payments to farmers to compensate them for crop losses incurred due to weather-related fluctuations in crop yields and prices. It is designed to help farmers stay in business if their crops are destroyed by extreme weather events such as floods, hail, or drought. The ways in which crop insurance is administered, while somewhat technical, matter for how much relative risk farmers, taxpayers, government, and private companies are expected to bear to ensure stability in agriculture and food production. This entry discusses the history of crop insurance in the United States, the structure of the crop insurance industry, types of crop insurance available, and implications and controversies related to the current ...