WASHINGTON – On Wednesday the House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management held a hearing to review agricultural producers' views on the effectiveness and operations of the Federal crop insurance program.

Representative Jim Marshall of Georgia chaired the hearing.

The subcommittee heard testimony from two panels of witnesses representing broad based farm groups and specific crop organizations.

In addition, a researcher from Iowa State University presented testimony on the actuarial methodology of crop insurance. Federal crop insurance provides agricultural producers with a risk management tool to help address crop losses on their farms.

"This is the first of a series of hearings we intend to hold examining the efficiency of our crop insurance programs," Rep. Marshall said. "It was very appropriate that we began this series with testimony from those who depend upon crop insurance as an essential component of their farm business."

"The crop insurance program is of significant importance to farmers across the nation," said Subcommittee Ranking Member Jerry Moran of Kansas. "Farmers often tell me they could not continue to function without it. Given the critical nature of this program as a risk management tool, it is important that we hear from producers to determine if there is a way to make these programs more

effective. The producers that testified today reaffirmed the need to address ongoing problems like shallow losses and declining APH yields due to multiple-year drought."

Written testimony provided by the witnesses is available on the Committee Web site, http://agriculture.house.gov/hearings/index.html. A full transcript of the hearing will be posted on the Committee Web site at a later date.

Witness List:

Panel I

Dr. Chad E. Hart, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa

Mr. Bob Stallman, President, American Farm Bureau Federation, Washington, D.C.

Mr. Roger Johnson, President, National Farmers Union, Washington, D.C.

Panel II

Mr. Rickey Bearden, cotton, grain and peanut producer, and Chairman, Crop Insurance Task Force, National Cotton Council, Plains, Texas

Mr. Steve Bennett, General Manager and Partner, Riverbend Nurseries, on behalf of the American Nursery and Landscape Association, Thompson's Station, Tennessee

Mr. Jarrod Spillman, sorghum, wheat, corn, soybean, sunflower and cow-calf producer, on behalf of the National Sorghum Producers, Hoxie, Kansas

Mr. John Owen, rice producer, and President, Northeast Louisiana Rice Growers Association, on behalf of USA Rice Federation, Rayville, Louisiana

Mr. Michael Robichaux, sugarcane farmer, on behalf of the American Sugar Cane League and the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation, Franklin, Louisiana

Mr. Bing Von Bergen, wheat producer, President, Montana Grain Growers Association, Board Member, National Association of Wheat Growers, Moccasin, Montana

Mr. Mike Clemens, wheat, corn, soybean, sunflower, and dry bean producer, and Vice Chair, Public Policy Action Team, National Corn Growers Association, Wimbledon, North Dakota