LANSING - State Representatives John Espinoza (D-Croswell) and Terry Brown (D-Pigeon) are pushing for the federal government to reassess the losses that Thumb-area wheat farmers suffered due to heavy rains this season, a move that would lead to higher crop insurance payments and protect the thousands of jobs that rely on white wheat grown in Michigan.
"If white wheat is seen as too risky to grow and farmers don't have confidence that the federal insurance system will back them up, Michigan could lose this specialty crop and all the jobs that it produces," Espinoza said. "It is imperative that the federal government immediately re-evaluate its payout policy for wheat crops so we can create and maintain jobs and keep our economy moving in the right direction."
Heavy rains this year caused many wheat kernels to prematurely germinate, or sprout, before harvest, degrading the wheat and damaging its quality. Currently, the Federal Crop Insurance Corp. accepts only a subjective "sprout count" to determine the quality of wheat. Grain elevators and millers, though, use a scientific "falling numbers" test that often results in a lower determination of quality - and market price. This discrepancy forces wheat producers to take the full financial loss, despite having purchased crop insurance.
Espinoza and Brown want the government to use both methods of measuring wheat quality in order to more fairly compensate farmers. They have asked our U.S. Representatives and Senators to intervene immediately and have introduced a resolution in the Michigan House of Representatives calling for this change in the crop insurance system. Major Michigan employers such as Kellogg cereal company rely on Thumb-area farmers for their white wheat, which in the U.S. is grown primarily in Michigan and the Northwest.
"Many Thumb-area farmers have lost thousands of dollars this year because the rains damaged their wheat and their ability to sell it at good prices," said Brown, a member of the House Agriculture Committee. "But because of the outdated way the federal crop insurance system determines wheat quality, farmers aren't being adequately compensated. Farmers pay good money for this insurance, and they deserve to have the most scientific methods used to measure their losses and help them through tough times like these."