Farm Credit Hosts USDA Risk Management Agency Administrator for Industry Tours
Earlier this month, Farm Credit hosted the USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) Administrator Martin Barbre and his team for farm tours and roundtable discussions with industry leaders.
Earlier this month, Farm Credit hosted the USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) Administrator Martin Barbre and his team for farm tours and roundtable discussions with industry leaders.
Growers and trade industry leaders attended the tours and roundtable discussions, weighing in on the advantages and shortcomings of the federal crop insurance program. Attendees included representation from the Florida Strawberry Growers Association, Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association, Florida Citrus Mutual and the Florida Blueberry Growers Association and their respective industries.
"We are excited to have Barbre and the RMA team here to tour these operations and hear from growers," Regina Thomas, Director of Financially Related Services at Farm Credit of Central Florida said. "Opportunities like this allow for RMA to hear directly from the grower, learn about the unique challenges they face and better understand their operations."
"We understand the importance of the crop insurance program," Barbre said. "Our goal is to keep growers returning to the farm. Everyone asks for no new storms and we cannot prevent that, but we can exist to support you."
Trade organizations emphasized that crop insurance offerings have to make financial and business sense and achieving that balance can be difficult.
"The RMA’s goal is to continue to improve policies so that they are easier to administer and easier for the farmer to manage," Barbre said.
Farm Credit thanks the RMA team for taking the time for the visit and productive discussion with growers.
Thank you to all of the grower and trade organizations for attending and sharing their experiences with the federal crop insurance program. Special thanks to Grimes Produce, the Florida Strawberry Growers Association, Agri-Starts Inc., Southern Hill Farms, Beck Brothers Citrus Inc and Heller Brothers Packing Inc. for hosting the tours.