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STATEMENT OF THE AMERICAN FARM BUREAU FEDERATION 



TO THE HOUSE AGRICULTURE SUBCOMMITTEE ON 



SPECIALTY CROPS AND NATURAL RESOURCES, 



REGARDING DISASTER ASSISTANCE 



FOR SPECIALTY CROPS 



November 16, 1993 



The American Farm Bureau Federation, representing over four million member 

 families in the United States and Puerto Rico, appreciates the opportunity to provide 

 comments on disaster assistance for specialty crops. 



The recent disasters which have affected specialty crop growers, including Hurricanes 

 Andrew and Iniki and the flood and drought of 1993, highlight the need to address the subject 

 of comprehensive reform of both crop insurance and disaster relief. In the aftermath of these 

 disasters, it became abundantly clear that disaster assistance and federal crop insurance fail to 

 accurately define and resolve the level and intensity of damage caused to specialty crops by 

 natural disasters. 



While the Specialty Crops and Natural Resources Subcommittee is only examining 

 disaster assistance for specialty crops, we encourage the subcommittee and the full House 

 Agriculture Committee to examine the effectiveness of both crop insurance and disaster 

 assistance for all crops. Farm Bureau policy on disaster assistance and crop insurance is clear 

 and specific: 



"We support the elimination of all agricultural crop-specific federal disaster 

 programs in favor of federal or private crop insurance programs. The crop 

 insurance program should be administered and reinsured by the Federal Crop 

 Insurance Corporation. Programs should be marketed through the private 

 insurance industry and must be actuarially sound." 



Our comments reflect a number of reasons why Farm Bureau members across the 

 country feel that this is important for specialty crops. The need for fundamental change is 

 embodied in some of the problems encountered by specialty crop growers when they have 

 had to rely upon disaster assistance or federal crop insurance. 



The effectiveness of federal crop insurance for specialty crops varies widely between 

 crops, states and regions. For some specialty crops, such as raisins and tomatoes in 

 California, crop insurance does provide appropriate protection when losses occur. For other 

 specialty crops, crop insurance has never provided meaningful and consistent relief. 



There are a number of reasons for this inability to address the needs of specialty crop 

 growers. ASCS offices in a majority of counties across the country are unfamiliar with 

 resolving claims for specialty crops. Often they underestimate the damage which leads to 

 undercompensation for losses. We readily acknowledge, however, that most ASCS offices 



