Page 13 - Logan County Farm Outlook - Spring 2013

2013 LOGAN COUNTY FARM OUTLOOK MAGAZINE. LINCOLN DAILY NEWS.com March 21, 2013
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From the perspective of people like
Rick Harbarger, a farmer and banker,
the possibility of a continued drought
cycle does not discourage the farming
community.
“Crop insurance is an advantage,
even if there is more of a
drought,” said Harbarger.
He added that even if
the weather is more
advantageous this year,
having insurance is still a
good idea for farmers.
Harbarger himself farms
under a revenue protection
plan with a harvest price option,
or HPO. Under an HPO, revenue
guarantees increase when the harvest
price exceeds the projected price for a
given year.
Harbarger says he is more than
willing to pay for crop insurance, as
high coverage levels will help to ensure
he sees a good financial turnout after
a season.
“I bought crop insurance starting
in 1989, though I really needed it in
’88,” says Harbarger. The drought of
1988 continues to come to mind when
thinking of 2012.
There is still a question left to answer:
What about those farmers who do not
decide to purchase crop insurance?
From what Harbarger has seen after
2012, those without
crop insurance did not
fare too badly, all things
considered.
“As for the customers
I have worked with, I
think there were only a
couple of people who
didn’t have crop insurance, and they still
did OK,” said Harbarger. He attributed
this partially to farmers receiving loans
in order to make up for lost profit.
Harbarger still recommends to those
who do not already do it, that they
purchase crop insurance.
Harbarger is an employee of Logan
County Bank and farms 650 acres,
primarily corn, between Elkhart and
Mount Pulaski. He has been farming
since 1977.
[Derek Hurley]