In light of changes in the agricultural safety net brought about by this year's Farm Bill , volatile market conditions, and the 1994 crop insurance reforms, questions arise concerning the extent that Iowa's row crop producers are purchasing additional insurance to facilitate risk management. Here we present preliminary coverage numbers for 1996 crop insurance purchases for Iowa and compare these to 1995 figures.

The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), enacted in 1985, was the largest single land retirement program in history with current enrollment above 36 million acres. When initially passed in the 1985 Food Security Act, the CRP was intended, primarily, to provide an incentive to remove highly erodible land from production for 10 years. In subsequent years its use was expanded to include, among other objectives, producer income support and the reduction of surplus commodities by restricting production.

The Farm Bill passed by the House and Senate in late March and signed by President Clinton 0n April 4, 1996, contains many of the same provisions as the Agricultural Reconciliation Act of 1995 (ARA-95, evaluated in our last issue). The 1996 bill, the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform (FAIR) Act, also has some significant differences. Most notably, "permanent law" provisions for price support authotity and the Farmer Owned Reserve were only suspended, and were not eliminated. Soybean loan .rate provisions were changed, implying an approximate 34 cents/ bushel increase in the loan rate over the near term. Also, important conservation and environmental provisions that were not in ARA-95, were included in the FAIR Act:

CARDs 1996 Fall Policy Conference will be presented on two different days at opposite ends of the state. On September 12, 1996, Iowa Lakes Community College in Emmetsburg will host the program. On the following day, September 13, 1996, the program will move to Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa.