Purpose – The paper considers how the Federal crop insurance program influences farm debt use, one of the key financial decisions made by farm operators.Design/Methodology/Approach – Using data from the nationally-representative Agricultural Resource Management Survey, the paper implements a...

The 1996 Farm Act and the 1994 Crop Insurance Reform Act are recent examples of policy changes that have increased risks for U.S. farmers. New products are emerging to help farmers manage risks. This article examines some of the policy changes, farmer responses, and new risk-sharing products....