Crop Insurance Losses Begin to Mount Amid Drought

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) – Thousands of U.S. farmers are filing crop

insurance claims this year as drought and triple-digit temperatures

burn up crops in the Corn Belt.

The final cost to the taxpayer-subsidized program has yet to be

determined, but Kansas State University is forecasting underwriting

losses at nearly $15 billion. That figure is based on anticipated

claims totaling $25 billion.

Extension specialist G.A. Barnaby says the Agriculture

Department’s Risk Management Agency cut premiums for corn and

soybeans in many states, expecting new technologies to eliminate or

reduce big losses.

More than $1.42 billion in insurance claims have been paid so

far, with the bulk still to come.

Texas is leading the nation with $518.6 million in claims,

followed by Kansas with $223 million. Colorado is third with $66

million.