Crop Insurance Cushions Farmers From Drought

05:31

September 05, 2013

Livingston County, Ill., led the nation in crop insurance indemnities for the 2012 crop year. (Darrell Hoemann/The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting)

Farmers in the Midwest were devastated by a crippling drought in 2012. The federal crop insurance program paid out a record $17.3 billion.

In rural America, that money is still paying dividends.

To understand the impact, Harvest Public Media reporter Bill Wheelhouse took a tour of Livingston County, Illinois, where farmers received by far the biggest insurance payout in the nation.

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Reporter

Bill Wheelhouse, reporter in Springfield, Illinois, for Harvest Public Media. He tweets @BWheelhouse.

This segment aired on September 5, 2013.