MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, Feb. 25 (TNSRes) — The Environmental Working GroupThe following news release was issued
Ten countries are included in the Mississippi RiverBasin received over $3 billionAccording to a new study, crop insurance payments for the period 2001-2020 included a large portion of payments for losses due to extreme weather linked to the climate crisis. Environmental Working GroupAnalysis of Department of Agriculture data.
These counties are among the top insurance payout hotspots identified by EWG’s Report and its companion map. Together, they spotlight counties in the Mississippi River Critical Conservation AreaMRCCA or MRCA that received large, regular crop insurance payments from Federal Crop Insurance Program between 2001-2020.
“As climate crisis accelerates, it is increasingly urgent that farmers adjust to the extreme weather ravaging their fields,” said Anne SchechingerEWG Midwest director, author of the analysis. “EWG’s map and report highlight hot spots counties where farmers can make climate-smart choices, such as planting cover crops or retiring flood-prone areas.
Farmers in the MRCCA were awarded $51.5 billionEWG’s analysis showed that there was a significant increase in crop insurance indemnities from 2001 to 2020. This total is almost 80 percent, or $40.6 billion, was for the top five weather-related losses, including drought and what? USDAKnown as “excess moisture”, responsible for the highest payments.
USDA’sFederal Crop Insurance Program (Federal Crop Insurance Program) is a huge initiative whose cost has risen dramatically since the 1990s. This may be due to more severe and frequent droughts and rains linked to the climate emergency, EWG reported in January.
EWG’s new report showed that large amounts of money were paid to MRCCA counties each year for the same losses.
Surprisingly, many MRCCA county received both excess moisture and drought payments in the same fiscal year. 40 counties were also eligible for both drought and excess moisture payments, 20 years in succession.
Six of the ten hotspot counties with the highest total payment are located in South DakotaThree are in IllinoisOne is out, and one is in Minnesota. These counties paid out total amounts to farmers ranging from $225.5 millionIn Macoupin County, Ill.To $608 MillionIn Brown County, S.D.
The MRCCA has a USDADesignated “area of concentration” that covers more than 387 million acres in 13 states. It is both an agricultural corridor that covers most of the Corn Belt, and an environmentally sensitive area that funnels millions upon millions of pounds of sediment and pollutants into the region. Gulf of MexicoEvery year.
Crop Insurance Program annually costs taxpayers billions. However, it does not provide any incentive for farmers to adapt and adopt climate-friendly practices or adapt to a rapidly changing environment.
“USDA’sSchechinger stated that Crop Insurance Program should be reformed to encourage farmers adapt to the climate crisis as well as reduce their own emissions. “Some of these astronomical financial costs – and the climate risk of agriculture – could almost certainly have been alleviated by better options, such as permanently taking out production of environmentally sensitive land.”
EWG supports increased federal funding for targeted conservation practices that help farmers conserve the environment, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and better prepare them to deal with extreme weather.
Report link: https://www.ewg.org/research/new-ewg-map-highlights-mississippi-river-region-crop-insurance-payout-hot-spots?auHash=awlrPPSfdoJSAoksqm0r5dsVeCwzHja1X4_4OU9BWEw
Report link: https://www.ewg.org/research/crop-losses-climate-crisis-cost-billions-dollars-insurance-payouts
