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2013 Crop Insurance and the Farm Bill Symposium

The Crop Insurance and the Farm Bill: A New Paradigm in U.S. Agricultural Policy Symposium took place on October 8-9, 2013 at the Hyatt Regency in Louisville, Kentucky.

Final Program

Symposium Overview
Since the inception of the U.S. agricultural policies in the early 1930s, the Farm Bills enacted have centered on various iterations of supply controls, price supports and/or direct transfers. In the current political climate a paradigm shift seems to be underway toward alternative risk management strategies, primarily subsidized crop insurance offerings, to help mitigate the substantial risks inherent in agricultural production and marketing. In this symposium, the effects and impacts of the proposed shift to crop insurance as the primary tool for risk management in agriculture will be examined and assessed. Potential topic areas to be explored include the interaction between crop insurance and traditional Title 1 farm support programs; rating and delivery challenges related to more widespread reliance on insurance; innovations in the tools and techniques for crop insurance analysis; and the intersection between crop insurance and farm management decisions.

Several of the presentations from the Plenary and Selected Paper Sessions are available to view and download.

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Session I: Plenary featuring Invited Speakers

The Evolving Role of Crop Insurance in Farm Risk Management
Keith Collins, National Crop Insurance Services

Crop Insurance Rating: A Historical Perspective and Ongoing Challenges
Barry Barnett, Mississippi State University

The Role of Reinsurance in the Federal Crop Insurance
Barry Goodwin, North Carolina State University

Session II: Selected Paper Sessions

Interaction Between Federal Programs and Crop Insurance I

Is Crop Insurance Relevant as a Safety Net for Southern Agriculture?
Nathaniel Smith, University of Georgia; W. Donald Shurely, University of Georgia

Institutional Barriers to an Insurance-Based Farm Safety Net
John Anderson, American Farm Bureau Federation; Robert Young II, American Farm Bureau Federation; Todd Davis, American Farm Bureau Federation

Regional Considerations in Use of Model Farms for Policy Analysis
James Richardson,Texas A&M University; Joe Outlaw, Texas A&M University; Henry Bryant, Texas A&M University

Tools and Techniques for Modeling Crop Insurance Performance

Revenue Risk, Crop Insurance and Forward Contracting
Cory Walters, University of Kentucky; Richard Preston, Preston Farms

Farm Programs and Crop Insurance Design and Risk Management Implications
Bradley Lubben, University of Nebraska; Matthew Stockton, University of Nebraska; Jim Jansen, University of Nebraska

Challenging Belief in the Law of Small Numbers
Keith Coble, Mississippi State University; Barry Barnett, Mississippi State University; John Michael Riley, Mississippi State University

Evaluating the Interaction between Farm Programs with Crop Insurance and Producers’ Risk Preferences
Todd Davis, American Farm Bureau Federation; John Anderson, American Farm Bureau Federation; Robert Young, II, American Farm Bureau Federation

Crop Insurance Impacts on Farm Management Decisions I

Does Risk Aversion Matter for Shallow Loss Crop Insurance?
Thomas Sproul, University of Rhode Island; David Zilberman, University of California, Berkeley

Examining Contemporaneous Farm and County Losses Using Farm Level Data
Carl Zulauf, The Ohio State University; Vecdi Demircan, Suleyman Demirel University, Turkey; Gary Schnitkey, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Art Barnaby, Kansas State University; Kevin Herbel, Kansas State University

Crop Insurance for Energy Grasses
Ruiqing Miao, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Madhu Khanna, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Session III: Selected Paper Sessions

Interaction Between Federal Programs and Crop Insurance II

Incorporating Crop Insurance Subsidies into Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Design
Ruiqing Miao, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Hongli Feng, Iowa State University; David Hennessy, Iowa State University; Xiaodong Du, University of Wisconsin-Madison

2013 Farm Bill: Potential 2014-2018 STAX and SCO Payments for Cotton Producers
Jody Campiche, Oklahoma State University

A Stewardship Endorsement for Crop Insurance
Claire O'Connor, Natural Resources Defense Council

Analysis of the Supplemental Coverage Option
Scott Gerlt, University of Missouri; Patrick Westhoff, University of Missouri

Balancing Political and Actuarial Considerations in Rating Practices

The Effect of Climate on Insurance: Measuring the Impact of El Nino Southern Oscillation on U.S. Crop Insurance
Jesse Tack, Mississippi State University; David Ubilava, The University of Sydney

Accounting for Weather Probabilities in Crop Insurance Rating
Keith Coble, Mississippi State University; Mary Frances Miller, Select Actuarial; Roderick Rejesus, North Carolina State University; Ryan Boyles, North Carolina State University; Barry Goodwin, North Carolina State University; Thomas O. Knight, Texas Tech University

Impact of Crop Insurance and Indemnity Payments on Cash Rent and Land Values
Michael Langemeier, Purdue University

Crop Insurance Impacts on Farm Management Decisions II

The Effectiveness of Livestock Revenue Protection Insurance for Feeder and Fed Cattle Risk Management
Shannon Neibergs, Washington State University

Managing Specialty Crop Risk in North Carolina: A Working Paper
James Robinson, Rural Advancement Foundation International; Scott Marlow, Rural Advancement Foundation International

Moove Over: Will New Government-Sponsored Dairy Margin Insurance Crowds Out Private Market Risk Management Tools?
Christopher Wolf, Michigan State University; John Newton, The Ohio State University; Marin Bozic, University of Minnesota; Cameron Thraen, The Ohio State University