Farmers are making claims for crop loss this year because of the drought. However, Mike Doherty, senior economist for the Illinois Farm Bureau, says there are farmers in Illinois who didn't buy insurance because there have been a number of years with good yields and this was supposed to be a record year, in Illinois. "Traditionally we do not benefit that much by crop insurance because we get good yields every year, so the insurance never pays off," Doherty said. "Until this year."
Doherty said he doesn't know the percentage of farmers who don't have crop insurance, but it could be as many as one in four.
He also said there's more than the input cost at stake for some farmers. There are rental rates too. Doherty said land owners increased rental rates this year because the past few years have produced high yields for the farmers. "The landlords, as they should have done, they looked at it and said, "The land is worth more, the renter is making more money, so they increased their rental prices," Doherty said. "Our cash rental rates across Illinois and the Midwest, they really increased the last few years because of these high yields."
(Posted 7/13/2012 at 6:45am, Illinois Radio Network)
(Posted 7/13/2012 at 6:45am, Illinois Radio Network)