BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — The Illinois Corn Growers Assoc. (ICGA) challenged Congress and the USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) to equalize the performance of the federal crop insurance program across all crops and regions, in a full-page, multi-colored advertisement the organization recently bought in prominent U.S. agriculture publications.

Apparently, the RMA is listening to what Illinois corn farmers are saying. The ICGA has asked Congress to compel the agency to offer increased coverage at reduced subsidy levels and to direct it to establish a minimum loss ratio for each crop at 0.8 and 1.0 for the overall program.

The 4,500-member ICGA would like to see direct payments transitioned into other programs that allow producers to manage risk while assuring food security, while including revenue-based insurance as a component of a safety net. The net would be comprised of a combination of risk management tools that allow producers to protect themselves against uncontrollable losses.

The ICGA’s campaign reflects the opinions of more than 800 ICGA members who provided input during organized “listening sessions” via mail or through online polling, according to Tim Lenz, district 11 director and immediate past president of the ICGA. “Our (insurance) rates are too high,” said Lenz. “Corn and soybeans are paying the bill for other crops. The way the statute is written for crop insurance, our loss ratio is supposed to be zero, meaning farmers are supposed to get out what they pay in. In Illinois and the central part of the Corn Belt, our loss ratios have run from 0.3 to 0.6 on corn and soybeans.”

Lenz and the ICGA claim the RMA has been inaccurate in determining loss ratios for Corn Belt states by including data from “bad years” such as 1988, and fails to take into account gains made in yields through recent technology and improved equipment. “Too much emphasis is put on years such as 1988. There were so few acres in the program back then,” Lenz said. “We finally got (RMA) to adjust the ratings a little bit and to finally acknowledge they had too much emphasis on what happened way back then. This will save 10 to 20 percent for Illinois farmers.”

He lauded the work of Gary Schnitkey and Bruce Sherrick, agricultural economists with the University of Illinois-Urbana, for their efforts in preparing the crop loss ratio studies ICGA provided to RMA. RMA’s seeming failure to keep pace adjusting rates based on increased yields was an issue addressed by the Illinois Corn Marketing Board (ICMB). “ICMB submitted a new add-on to the RMA called a yield trend endorsement. It basically will (increase) your county’s yield trend, added on to your APH, your effective average for your crop insurance,” said Lenz.

Two-thirds of Illinois corn producers who provided input on crop insurance to the ICGA said crop insurance is the “most important tool” they possess for risk management, while 84 percent agreed that insurance must be improved. Seventy-five percent indicated they would be willing to swap all existing safety net farm programs for a crop insurance program that better protects their crop, along with a new program that covers year-to-year variability.

The improvements in the federal crop insurance program made by RMA will kick in next year, said Lenz – just in time to better protect producers who are expecting drastic cuts in direct payments as part of the 2012 farm bill.

“Direct payments will be cut in the next farm bill to help balance the federal budget. Corn farmers are okay with that, but crop insurance must be made better,” said Lenz. “We applaud RMA for making improvements farmers will see for the 2012 crop year.”