From our industry partners at National Crop Insurance Services (NCIS):

In the formative days of our Republic, Benjamin Franklin wrote, “I have sometimes thought it might be well to establish an office of insurance for farms against the damage that may occur to them from storms, blights, insects, etc.” Not even Mr. Franklin could have envisioned what’s transpired since.

In 2023, crop insurance protected more than 540.6 million acres of farm and ranchland across the country. That is more land than the gross area of the entire United States in 1788 when the famous Founding Father first had his big idea to help farmers manage their risks.

Even more impressive is that the area covered by crop insurance has grown by more than 205 million acres since the 2018 Farm Bill was enacted, a 61% increase.

Now, more than nine out of every 10 acres of planted land in America is covered, providing more than $200 billion in liability protection to the men and women who put food on our tables, clothes on our backs and renewable fuel in our vehicles.

Why the tremendous growth?

Lawmakers have recognized crop insurance as the cornerstone of modern-day farm policy and want to ensure it covers America’s diverse agricultural industry. That means constantly striving to add more crops, more farmers and more protection from “storms, blights, insects, etc.” And lawmakers are clearly succeeding – to the tune of 205 million acres in the past five years alone.

Added coverage for America’s ranchers and improvements for specialty crop growers through Whole Farm Revenue Protection and other crop-specific insurance products account for much of the additional acreage.

For some perspective about just how massive the recent growth has been:

  • 205 million acres is larger than the states of Texas and New York combined.
  • That’s an area bigger than the entire country of France, where Franklin served as America’s first diplomat until 1785.
  • It would be like enrolling 85,000 football fields in crop insurance every single day for five years.

Amazingly, there’s still room to grow, and Congress can continue to make progress by passing a new Farm Bill that further strengthens the public-private crop insurance system.

Mr. Franklin, one of the country’s first members of Congress, undoubtedly would approve.