Franklin D. Roosevelt

Message to Congress on Crop Insurance.

February 18, 1937

To the Congress:

During the past four years the Government has assisted farmers in meeting emergencies of two different types. The first was the collapse of prices resulting from huge surpluses for which foreign markets had disappeared. The second was widespread failure of crops resulting from drought.

Government action helped both farmers and consumers. Meanwhile, again it has been shown that neither producers nor consumers are benefited by wide fluctuations in either prices or supplies of farm products.

Convinced that the time had come to take permanent steps in protecting farmers and consumers against disasters of both types, I appointed, on September 19 last, a committee of representatives of Federal agencies and requested this committee to prepare a report and recommendations for legislation providing a plan of "all-risk" crop insurance.

The committee has now completed its work and I transmit to you its report, entitled "Report and Recommendations of the President's Committee on Crop Insurance." I have examined this report and I am convinced that the plan it outlines is practical, socially desirable, and worthy of your thoughtful consideration.

I believe that it provides an adequate basis for legislation which will make possible a program of crop insurance applying to wheat for the crop year 1938. I believe that legislation should authorize application of similar programs to other commodities when it is established that producers desire them and application of the plan to wheat has provided a back log of experience in applying the principles of crop insurance.

Crop insurance and a system of storage reserves should operate so that surpluses in years of good weather might be carried over for use in years of unfavorable growing conditions. Crop insurance and a system of storage reserves would help to protect the income of individual farmers against the hazards of crop failure; it would help to protect consumers against shortages of food supplies and against extremes of prices; and finally, it would assist in providing a more nearly even flow of farm supplies, thus stabilizing farm buying power and contributing to the security of business and employment.

The Government also has a special interest in measures which would assist in guarding farmers and consumers against emergencies arising out of extremes of surpluses or shortages. The expense in the past to Federal, State, and local governments arising by reason of crop losses points to the desirability of employing the principle of insurance in order to lessen the cost—financial and human—of future crop disasters.

A program of crop insurance and storage of reserves should be part of the foundation of agricultural policy which we are building and which must include the conservation of soil and water, better land use, increased farm income, and alleviation of distress in rural areas arising out of factors beyond the control of individual producers.

May I repeat what I have suggested in a former message: That because economic and social reforms of this character are essentially national in scope and in administration, the citizens of our nation believe that our form of government was never intended to prohibit their accomplishment.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, Message to Congress on Crop Insurance. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/209338

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