Grain indemnity voting period coming to a close

Dec. 07--Friday is the last day for farmers to cast ballots in Texas' grain indemnity fund referendum, a measure that would use fees to provide additional crop insurance for some producers.

This is the second time such a referendum has been put to a vote in the state -- in 2012, a similar measure was presented to voters but did not pass. A member of the referendum's governing board previously told the Times Record News that misinformation was to blame.

If enacted, the referendum would create a fund to repay producers of some commodities in the event of grain buyer failure, such as bankruptcy or legal trouble. However, the insurance protection would come at an additional cost to corn, sorghum, wheat and soybean farmers, who would pay to grain elevators fees that later would be forwarded to the state.

Only producers who have grown those crops in the past three years may vote.

Experts say the impetus for the measure is high-profile grain elevator failures, such as an incident in which a Sherman commodity buyer went belly-up in 2009. But cash-strapped farmers may have reservations about voting for the measure; earlier this year, wheat crops specifically sold for about $2 below the cost of production, and farmers may err on the side of riskier business deals to avoid an additional insurance fee.

Voting on the referendum began Monday and will be concluded Friday. Ballots may be cast at the Texas A&M AgriLIfe Extension Office in Wichita Falls, 600 E. Scott St.

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