New Mexico ranchers have paid $1.64 million in premiums and have received only two payouts totaling $2,007, according to USDA's Risk Management Agency.

August 21, 2011

1 Min Read
Ranchers Upset With Drought Insurance

Call it doubt about the drought.

New Mexico cattle ranchers are fighting mad over a brand new federal insurance policy they say was sold as drought protection but isn't paying off because satellites say the state still has too much "greenness."

Never mind there isn't any grass for the cattle to eat.

In fact, on-the-ground conditions have been so catastrophic that ranchers have been selling off record numbers of cattle because they can't afford to feed them.

The insurance policies, part of a pilot program for New Mexico and seven other states, are administered by the USDA's Risk Management Agency and are based on a "greenness index" measured using satellite imagery.

To read the entire article, link here.

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