AUDIO: Lee Waters – Farm Credit Illinois
A senior official with Farm Credit Illinois says changes to the federal crop insurance program stand to benefit farmers.
Lee Waters, vice president of crop insurance, says last summer’s reconciliation bill is bringing substantial savings to farmers looking to protect the investment into their crops.
“What’s changed is the subsidy levels, and it’s very heavily changed on your county endorsements, Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO) and Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO).” He says, “Those used to be 65% subsidized, and now they’re 80% subsidized. Ballpark here, but it roughly cut the premium in half.”
He tells Brownfield the added affordability in coverage comes at a time when many producers need all the protection they can get.
“The attractiveness of those county endorsements is being at 95% level you just don’t have to have as big of a drop for something to trigger.” He says, “And sometimes even a 5% drop in yield and price in today’s margins can hurt. And so those products can fill that gap for you.”
Waters says it’s important for producers to sit down with their crop insurance agent to craft the best way to utilize the changes for their operation.
The federal crop insurance signup deadline is March 16th.
Brownfield spoke with Waters at the 2026 Illinois Agricultural Summit in Champaign.
