The House Ag Committee subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management yesterday held the second part of its hearing called Formulation of the 2012 Farm Bill: Commodity Programs and Crop Insurance.

During the hearing, House Ag Chairman Frank Lucas and American Soybean Association President Steve Wellman had this dialogue concerning the Soybean Association’s view of the Senate ARC proposal.

Wellman

And President of the National Association of Wheat Growers and Minnesota farmer Erik Younggren said disaster assistance is important to wheat producers.

Younggren

Witnesses representing the crop insurance industry also spoke during the hearing. Great American Insurance Crop Insurance President Tim Weber says the insurance industry is doing what they can to help improve crop insurance participation for those crops and regions that have fallen behind.

Weber

The House Ag Committee will have another subcommittee hearing on the farm bill today, making the move to discussing Energy and Forestry programs.

The House farm bill process is under way again this week, with House Ag Committee subcommittees continuing a series of hearings on key farm policy issues ahead of mark-up. Hearings Wednesday and today covered commodity programs and crop insurance.

Witnesses focused on the need for meaningful price protection, payments that would kick in only when needed and policy that is fair to all commodities and producers.

When addressing crop insurance, University of Illinois’s Gary Schnitkey says that there are gaps in the program, but the Senate plan accounts for them.

Schnitkey

But, Dee Vaughan, President of the Southwest Council of Agribusiness in Texas disagrees.

Vaughan 1

And Vaughan says that protecting against multi-year deep prices declines is not just a rice or peanuts issue.

Vaughan 2

The witnesses did agree that the farm bill needs to get done this year to ensure producers will have certainty this fall when planning for the 2013 growing season.

American Farm Bureau Federation President Stallman…

Stallman