Written by Sara Brown and Katie Humphreys
Crop Insurance Payments as of Dec. 10
As of Dec. 10, more than $8.7 billion has been paid to farmers for crop losses in 2012. That number is expected to almost double when final numbers are tallied. This time last year, farmers had no idea that their $4.1 billion investment to purchase 1.2 million crop insurance policies for 281 million acres (86% of U.S. planted acres) would pay. To see an interactive series of maps that detail indemnity payments on a county-by-county basis, visit www.FarmJournal.com/crop_insurance.
What a Day!
Down hill slide
This picture doesn’t show the hill that this tractor and manure spreader slid down, but it must have been a doozy of a ride. Next time they go out to play, they may want to use the regular sled instead!
If you’ve had one of those days—or caught someone else’s on film—we’d love to share it with our readers. E-mail high-resolution images to sbrown@farmjournal.com, or mail prints to What a Day!, FARM JOURNAL, P.O. Box 958, Mexico, MO 65265. Photos for publication will be selected on a first-come basis.
Stat Rack
Facts heard at the 2012 Farm Journal Forum during speeches by USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and Tom Dorr, former USDA Rural Development Undersecretary:
95%
of the world’s population
lives outside the U.S.
75%
of U.S. agricultural trade
comes from the
Asia-Pacific Rim area
290 million
Chinese people will emigrate
into the affluent social class
by 2020—that’s almost as
large as the entire U.S.
60%
The increase in farmers
markets—which will be a
continued focus because it
provides smaller operators
an opportunity to get into
this farming business.
Doubled
Production capacity for
renewable energy in the
past three years
16%
of the U.S. population lives
in rural America—which
means 16% of elected U.S.
representatives represent
rural America; 84% don’t.
