Keep America Growing

In this episode of Keep America Growing, host Tom Zacharias looks back at the 2012 Midwest drought, one of the most significant stress tests in modern agricultural history. The conversation explores how crop insurance performed under unprecedented pressure, why the public-private partnership matters, and what the lessons from 2012 still mean for farm policy today.

Former House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway joins Keep America Growing to reflect on how crop insurance evolved into the backbone of the farm safety net, and what policymakers must get right in 2026 to keep it strong.

NCIS turns the tables at Trade Talk, interviewing a farm broadcaster to discuss how technology has reshaped farm broadcasting, how modern agriculture has become more complex and capital-intensive, and why forward-looking farm policy is more important than ever.

One year after Hurricane Helene devastated parts of the Southeast, Georgia farmers reflect on the storm that wiped out crops, shattered equipment, and threatened family farms. In this special episode, producers share in their own words how crop insurance provided the financial lifeline they needed to recover and rebuild.

Pascal Forrer of AIAG joins NCIS to discuss why the U.S. system is the global benchmark, the growth of crop insurance abroad, and what’s ahead at AIAG’s Rotterdam congress.

Dean Strasser shares how NCIS research projects with universities and hands-on adjuster schools make crop insurance smarter, faster, and fairer for farmers.

Top industry lobbyists discuss the agricultural provisions in the recently passed budget reconciliation package, and what it all means for crop insurance.

Hear from Florida citrus growers how crop insurance keeps them in business despite hurricanes, disease and a decline in production.