Risk management issues have taken a central focus in the current agricultural policy debate. This six-article Choices thematic issue focuses on current issues in risk management and agriculture policy and provides an assessment of important issues surrounding the ongoing farm bill negotiations.

The 2013 Farm Bill proposals, if ratified, will enact a significant overhaul of the Dairy Title. This article highlights some important aspects of the 2013 proposals relative to current policy. The new proposals will typically redistribute program benefits toward states/regions with larger farms relative to current policy.

Crop insurance has taken on an increased role in farmers' risk management decisions and agricultural policy. This article lays out several reasons for this increased role in farm policy and then concludes with some thoughts on the current structure and direction of the current crop insurance program.

Despite persistent improvement efforts since its inception, crop insurance remains costly to taxpayers and is perceived by many as an ineffective and inequitable agricultural safety net. This paper reviews key criticisms of crop insurance and discusses an alternative approach based on the concept of farmer-owned crop insurance savings accounts.

The federal crop insurance (FCI) program could lead to increased use of debt financing by U.S. farms, either through its impacts on lender or producer behavior. Using nationally representative farm survey data, we find that participation in FCI is associated with higher leverage and higher probability of credit default.

Shallow-loss policies take center stage in many proposals for the current farm bill. We examine the choice of deductible coverage versus coinsurance to show risk premiums and loss adjustment costs matter little when comparing policies. Thus, policy makers should base decisions more on costs to taxpayers than specific risk management features.

Free supplemental farm programs in the 2013 Congressional farm bills complement underlying crop insurance coverage. However, the bills' highly subsidized crop insurance supplemental revenue programs may reduce underlying crop insurance coverage at high coverage levels, and the combination of the two may substitute for current county crop insurance plans