Can anyone tell me what happens when....???

[tweety]

Then EVERYONE should be doing it. Or everyone would want to do it.
Hardly. Most people don't have the balls or intestinal fortitude for the risk. But according to some people there is no risk.

There is a lot less risk then there could be due to a lot of government programs paid by the tax payer, along with many tax benefits as well as whole government departments doing research to benefit the farmer. That is my only point. If you can't make money, do something else.

Farming is a great occupation, and if you keep your spending in check, profitable over the long term.

[jazz]

That's my point Hamloc - all your costs in you are at $350 - if you suffer total loss you essentially get your money back don't you? If you hadn't crop insurance, laid out $350/acre, had a total loss then you've lost $350/acre. That's the scenario that puts guys out of business and crashes land prices.

Insurance will cover costs in most cases, but it wont cover a profit, so who feed your kids for the year?

[jazz]

Or maybe because its a rock solid way of accumulating wealth.

Tweety, you around in 1980?

[samhill]

Full moon Aug 15, then Sept 13...

Where I am, I always worried more about the new moon, often cold around that time.

[the big wheel]

There is a lot less risk then there could be due to a lot of government programs paid by the tax payer, along with many tax benefits as well as whole government departments doing research to benefit the farmer. That is my only point. If you can't make money, do something else.

Farming is a great occupation, and if you keep your spending in check, profitable over the long term.

Do you know how much money goes to oil exploration and research and employment it makes the ag amount look like peanuts. And are we not interested in researching better farm ways? It’s always made out so the dim witted people bite that it’s for the farmers.
Wveeyrhing has been geared towards produce more for the same or less price relative to costs or inflation. Producing 50 bushels an acre now did not bet as much as 25 bushels 30 years ago people made a living off fraction of the size of farms. This change has been a benefit to society for lots more cheap food. We ve bore the cost of transporting storing producing this extra product.

[furrowtickler]

That's my point Hamloc - all your costs in you are at $350 - if you suffer total loss you essentially get your money back don't you? If you hadn't crop insurance, laid out $350/acre, had a total loss then you've lost $350/acre. That's the scenario that puts guys out of business and crashes land prices.

Not even close , that’s a huge misconception unless you have never had a total loss you have no clue. Some of us have been there . Crop insurance does not even come close even at 80% coverage.

[GDR]

I have to add that in AB at least crop insurance works great, not cheap by any means my canola premium is in the $40 range but when I have needed it I've had no complaints. Only problem is knowing in your heart what could have been there for a crop vs the average that you are insured for. And incase anyone doubts my experience, we have had 3 yrs now with no claim but those are the only years ever we havent used it. (Bad hail area) 2009, every acre 100% gone to hail.

If you dont like crop insurance then dont buy it!!

Farming is high stakes gambling you can either stomach it or not, but long term seems to work out well for most.

[the big wheel]

I have to add that in AB at least crop insurance works great, not cheap by any means my canola premium is in the $40 range but when I have needed it I've had no complaints. Only problem is knowing in your heart what could have been there for a crop vs the average that you are insured for. And incase anyone doubts my experience, we have had 3 yrs now with no claim but those are the only years ever we havent used it. (Bad hail area) 2009, every acre 100% gone to hail.

If you dont like crop insurance then dont buy it!!

Farming is high stakes gambling you can either stomach it or not, but long term seems to work out well for most.

Do you guys still get to decide a month after seeding whether you want insurance or not? That’s also a big plus. I bet it is better there from what I heard. Over here other then piss poor coverages you sometimes deal with all these excuses to not pay the claims. Seems to vary by office and adjuster for some reasons

[farmaholic]

Enter wiseguy....

[grassfarmer]

Not even close , that’s a huge misconception unless you have never had a total loss you have no clue. Some of us have been there . Crop insurance does not even come close even at 80% coverage.

Could you explain the part I'm not understanding Furrow? I really want to understand this. Hamloc said his total cost to grow canola was roughly $350/acre with "everything" included down to rent, labor, depreciation etc. He didn't mention what his coverage was but I'd assume it might be about the same given what my coverage would be here and knowing roughly where he farms. Don't they pay out or what's the catch I don't know about?

Jazz said later "Insurance will cover costs in most cases, but it wont cover a profit, so who feed your kids for the year?"

That was my understanding of crop insurance.

Not that I'm complaining because I choose to run cattle but if we get a drought and are short feed I have to buy feed to maintain the "factory" for another year or sell breeding stock into a price depressed market. Last year between hail and drought it cost me in the region of $65,000 for additional feed/pasture. That was just direct cost and doesn't include extra labor, fuel etc to utilise it. No-one puts that money back in my pocket - that's a straight cash loss, not just a loss of profit. Now you might say it's not the same as I don't spend $1 million dollars seeding grass every year which is true enough but we still do share a lot of the same costs. Land costs, labor, depreciation, machinery, repairs, fencing, fertiliser, fuel, seed etc
From my point of view we ranchers are taking a bigger risk than farmers with crop insurance - the sums we risk are maybe smaller $ wise but it's in a consistently lower margin business.
As I say I'm not complaining as it's my choice to do what I do. It's not a p#%#^ match about who is hardest done to - I just want someone to explain to me why crop insurance is such a bad deal when it looks from my perspective to offer quite a lot of security.