To provide some important perspective from the Agriculture sector, we were fortunate The Hill newspaper in DC (www.thehill.com, one of the most read political news sources) decided to publish an op-ed by Mr. Combest which is available at this link:  Combest Op Ed — Ag Budget.

The piece lays important groundwork for why agriculture should be exempt from further cuts as this process moves forward.  We would encourage you to read it by going to the link, and comment on it (these comment sections are typically dominated by whackos, but it is always good to get some positive reinforcement mixed in . . . a simple "well put — the situation in rural economies is tough right now" or something along those lines would be good).  

We would also encourage you to forward it along, or post it to Twitter or Facebook if you operate in the social media world.

As always, we appreciate your support in standing up for agriculture.  

CIPA hosted a series of two webinars by the creators of the web tools designed to aid producers in making their risk management decisions under the 2014 Farm Bill. This was a great opportunity for CIPA members and their staff to get a full preview of the features of these tools so that they can use them to help their clients make the best choices for their risk management portfolio. If you missed the webinar, or would like to view it again they can be accessed at the links below. Special thanks to Dr. Joe Outlaw with Texas A&M University and Jonathan Coppess with the University of Illinois for being willing to make special presentations for CIPA.

Recordings of the two webinars can be found in the policy resources section of the members area. 

Thank you to all who attended the CIPA Fall Meeting in Nashville, TN October 26-28! The meeting was a huge success and was our most widely attended meeting yet with over 140 CIPA members, sponsors, and guests. Attendees heard from an all star line up of speakers which included RMA Associate Administrator Michael Alston, FFAS Deputy Undersecretary Karis Gutter, political prognosticator and House Editor of the Cook Political Report David Wasserman, among many others. Also, we were very honored to have rising star Congressman Stephen Fincher of Tennessee speak at the Monday luncheon. 

CIPA members can view the agenda and presentations in the policy resources section of the members area.

Be on the lookout for more information about the Fall 2015 meeting which I am sure will be another excellent event.  

Thank you to everyone who attended the 2014 CIPA Annual Membership Meeting held on May 5-6 in Kansas City, Missouri. We had over 100 attendees at the meeting, making it one of our most well attended meetings to date.

At the general session we had a number of great speakers, including economists Dr. Art Barnaby and Dr. Joe Outlaw, Tim Hoffmann with RMA, and NCIS President Dr. Tom Zacharias. CIPA members may find their presentations in the Policy Resources area of the CIPA website.

The Bill Hanson, CIPA, Memorial Scholarship presentation was a particularly special moment of the meeting as Carol Hanson made the drive from Manhattan to join us. Over $27,000 has been raised for the scholarship to date to go towards scholarships in honor of Bill. If you would like to make a contribution, instructions are provided under the Scholarship tab of the CIPA website.

The CIPA PAC event at the meeting was a huge success. Between the dinner, auction and other donations, we brought in over $65,000 in contributions for the PAC! This far and away eclipsed our total from our inaugural event in 2013. Our goal is to have a $100K PAC this year, and while we are well on our way to reaching that goal, we still need everyone to pitch in. Thank you to everyone who has donated so far.

The CIPA Fall Membership Meeting will be held in Nashville, Tennessee on October 26-28. If you are interested in attending the meeting and are not a member of CIPA, visit the CIPA membership page for more information about joining or contact us at 202-544-5873.

CIPA agents take pride in being among the most informed agents in the country on issues related to Federal Crop Insurance. So it was no surprise that such a large number of agents joined us for the Farm Bill webinar series that included presentations tailored towards the Midwest, South, and Western/Great Plains regions. 

Crop Insurance Professionals Association is greatly appreciative of the passage of the 2014 Farm Bill. CIPA is especially grateful of the hard work and perseverance of Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK), Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-MN), and Ranking Member Thad Cochran (R-MS), and their respective staffs. Crop insurance is the premier risk management tool for the majority of farmers today, and the Agricultural Act of 2014 builds on and improves the policy.

In a letter signed by the entire Board of Directors, CIPA urged Congress to pass the 2014 Farm Bill conference report. The legislation achieves the number one ask of crop insurance agents and our farmer clients - do no harm to crop insurance. 

The 2013 CIPA Fall Membership Meeting held in Charleston, South Carolina was a great success. The meeting was attended by a record number of agents, AIP representatives, industry leaders and guests. Speakers at the General Session included RMA Administrator Brandon Willis, David Wasserman with The Cook Political Report, Jim Wiesemeyer with Informa Economics, Phillip Hayes with Northbridge Communications, Tom Zacharias with National Crop Insurance Services, House and Senate Agriculture Committee staff, and South Carolina producers.

In a series of one-sided articles published this week, Bloomberg News took direct aim at crop insurance. While it is disappointing to see reporters basically regurgitate EWG talking points and treat them as fact, we have seen these arguments from the critics before. We’ve beaten them back in the past and will beat them again. National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS) and Farm Policy Facts did nice jobs issuing rebuttals to the articles. The articles and responses are linked to below. 

Crop Insurance Professionals Association signed two letters this week that were circulated on Capitol Hill. The first letter CIPA signed alongside 194 other commodity and crop insurance organizations advocates Members of the House of Representatives to vote in favor of the Farm Bill passed out of the House Committee on Agriculture. CIPA also signed a letter requesting Congressmen to oppose all amendments to the Farm Bill that will be harmful to crop insurance.