A poll commissioned by the National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS) suggested that a good number of Americans are in favor of federal crop insurance programs and how they work.
The survey, conducted by North Star Opinion Research (NSOR), found that 86% of voters have a favorable opinion of farmers. It also discovered that 92% of survey participants think federal spending on programs designed to support farmers is important.
The report continued, noting that 60% of voters supported government assistance, while 79% supported discounted crop insurance. 42% of voters said that the farmers’ share of the insurance premium (at 40%) was adequate, while 26% said it was too high.
“Crop insurance has proven its worth to the rural economy, and new farm bill policies have kicked in to help growers cope with falling commodity prices. Yet agriculture’s political opponents have been unrelenting in their misguided attacks,” said NCIS president Tom Zacharias in a written statement in response to the survey. “Luckily for farmers, it looks like they have a pretty powerful ally in their corner: the American public.”
The survey also found that support for farmers and crop insurance was equal and consistent across the board, regardless of whether the survey participants were Democrat, Republican, or independent voters.
“Americans overwhelmingly like farmers and support the programs that protect them,” commented NSOR vice president John McHenry in a press release. “This response is not surprising when you consider that eight in 10 voters believe a vibrant agricultural industry was critical to the country’s national security.”
The 1,000 participants of the phone survey overwhelmingly voted in favor of federal financial crop assistance despite being told of the arguments made by farm policy detractors, reported Capital Press.
