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Farmers Turn To Crop Insurance After Drought

USDA

Last year's drought continues to weigh on farmers. That's according to Doug Yoder with the Illinois Farm Bureau. He oversees risk management. March 15th was the deadline to buy crop insurance for corn and soybeans. He expects more than 80 percent of Illinois corn will be covered by some type of crop insurance and 79 percent of soybeans. Yoder doesn't expect the extreme conditions like last year:

"There are still concerns about sub-soil moisture since it was so dry so far down last year. I think only once in history have we seen a major drought followed by another major drought here in the main portion of the corn belt."

He says farmers who are used to self-insuring may have changed their minds:

"That's the category that I think we will see step into insurance more now. Even if they can self-insure, what last year probably taught them was their net worthy (their equity) took a major hit."

Yoder says Illinois farmers spent around $750 million on crop insurance over the past two years. He says farmers can now choose different tiers of coverage depending on their risk level.

USDA Weekly Crop Progress

Jenna Dooley has spent her professional career in public radio. She is a graduate of Northern Illinois University and the Public Affairs Reporting Program at the University of Illinois - Springfield. She returned to Northern Public Radio in DeKalb after several years hosting Morning Edition at WUIS-FM in Springfield. She is a former "Newsfinder of the Year" from the Illinois Associated Press and recipient of NIU's Donald R. Grubb Journalism Alumni Award. She is an active member of the Illinois News Broadcasters Association and an adjunct instructor at NIU.