A recent commentary implied that farmers are greedy for expanded plantings ("The seed money of destruction," March 27).
Condemning our best risk-management tool -- crop insurance -- seems to miss the growing reality of our day: high food prices and a looming global food shortage. In fact, the United Nations estimates that farmers will have to produce 70 percent more food by 2050 to meet the needs of the world's expected 9 billion-strong population.
That means we need more food produced per farmer, not less. And farmers need to do this with fewer resources and less land.
As a Minnesota farmer, I can attest to the fact that agriculture is a risky business. With crop insurance, a public private-partnership that allows farmers to purchase coverage, we can pick ourselves up and plant again should disaster strike.
Without insurance, many of us would be selling our farms this spring instead of planting a new crop. Crop insurance does not guarantee income -- it covers loss when it occurs.
Crop insurance is the cornerstone of most farmers' risk management portfolios because it works.
TOM HAAG, EDEN VALLEY, MINN.
