Minn. farmers urged to check crop insurance

Minnesota Commerce Commissioner Mike Rothman is urging farmers to make sure they have enough crop insurance to deal with another possible year of drought.

Rothman said farmers should be prepared.

"The standard deadline for purchasing crop insurance is approaching," Rothman said. "Farmers must have their crop insurance plan in place by March 15 .... if these dry conditions persist in the weeks ahead, it's important to have proper crop insurance coverage."

Last year U.S. farmers received billions of dollars of insurance payments for drought damaged crops, Rothman said. Most of Minnesota currently has severe to extreme drought conditions.

"The probabilities and likelihood of drought conditions in certain areas of Minnesota make you want to double-check now and get the crop insurance in place you might need," he said.

While most farmers routinely carry some sort of crop insurance, he said, it's important to review the policy, adding that some farmers may want to tailor their coverage to more specifically deal with the possibility of drought.

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