SUBSIDIZED POLICIES FOR HOG FARMS

The government is making subsidized insurance available to livestock farms for the first time, in the form of policies that will give protection to hog producers from reductions in income. As reported by the Associated Press, the policies will be offered on an experimental basis in the nation’s top hog producing state, Iowa, according to the Agriculture Department’s Risk Management Agency. One form of coverage will protect against drops in hog prices, while a second will be tied to fluctuations in hog prices and feed costs. Currently, the government subsidizes the cost of insurance for grain, cotton and other crops. The insurance will be restricted to small and medium-size farms that sell no more than 32,000 hogs a year. Sales of the policies are set to begin in the spring.