New podcast: Farm Policy 101 with Dr. Joe Outlaw

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — There are a lot of new faces in the nation’s capital with the ushering in of 2025.

Crop insurance — and the public-private partnership and cost-sharing attributes that define it — may be familiar to some of the incoming officials and staff, but it will be brand new for others.

So, in honor of the fresh start that a new year brings, the Keep America Growing podcast dedicated its first episode of 2025 to a quick policy refresher.

“One of the best people I know to provide a solid baseline and introduce them to farm policy and crop insurance is my longtime friend and colleague Dr. Joe Outlaw,” said Tom Zacharias, the show’s host.

Outlaw is a professor and extension economist with Texas A&M University, and he has been called on frequently by Congress over the years for his farm policy expertise. He had a lot to say about crop insurance for the new group of lawmakers.

“Crop insurance has been carrying the water for the last few years in terms of the safety net for our producers in this country,” said Outlaw during the podcast. “Crop insurance has been a backbone and it’s been the reason why lenders will work with producers and finance them.”

Outlaw noted that the risk management tool has remained popular on Capitol Hill over the years, explaining that even if lawmakers don’t fully understand the program’s nuts and bolts, they understand the importance of risk management for rural America and know to “do no harm to crop insurance” in legislation they are developing.

But crop insurance isn’t the only tool farmers rely on to make it through tough times. Crop insurance is one of the three legs of the farm safety net, Outlaw said, along with farm programs in Title I of the farm bill and the federal farm loan program.

And although crop insurance is arguably the most important leg for farmers today, it’s important to keep the other legs strong so they can work together in concert to offer agriculture the most stability during periods of long-term price decline.

The interview with Outlaw, along with past podcast episodes, are available at the Crop Insurance in America website at https://tinyurl.com/Keep-America-Growing.