In brief: The The federal farm bill is under debate in Washington and will have a large part of it hinge on crop insurance, which many argue should be regionalized rather than national.
The full story
Many states are pushing for commodity-based insurance that is regional rather than nationalized blanket coverage. This would give many farmers an advantage in lower crop insurance rates because of the lower costs or risks associated with their crop.
Mississippi is one state pushing for this idea. Last year, policy experts and insurers sat down to discuss just such a plan for the state based on risks and commodity prices rather than on national overall risks. This would potentially save the state's farms millions in premiums.
Opponents, however, say that the point of the nationalized plan is to protect America's agriculture as a whole, not individual farmers and crops. When one crop has a bad season and another does not, the gains of the latter make up for the losses of the former.
The debate in Washington will, additionally, likely center on who's responsibility crop insurance really is - something sure to spark controversy.
Summing up
Currently, crop insurance is largely subsidized by government, another deciding factor in the arguments.
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