Too much inside baseball for me to figure out.
Crop insurance takes the place of the disaster payments that Congress would gin up following bad crop years. This would take a few months and then there was a process to qualify for them. Crop insurance is subsidized partially, but farmers pay for the insurance and then if they suffer crop losses, they receive a payment for a portion of the crop. Farmers are not required to buy crop insurance (unlike Obamacare)and the yields can increase or decrease on a 10 year average.
From the following link, it sounds like the crop insurance is private, and the insurance companies are subsidized to an extent (surprise). There is a reason why it is difficult for a Senator to become President - they have a detailed record of all of their votes that can be nit-picked.
I’m reminded of a lawyer friend when I asked about a case. “Well - we worked it out and settled out of court and everyone was satisfied. But everyone had to compromise. And that seems like such a, well, compromise.” Same with trying to get all of these bills through with all the various stuff in them. (Crop insurance in a highway bill!?)
http://www.rma.usda.gov/aboutrma/what/history.html
Government and Private Sector Roles - FCIC’s mission is to encourage the sale of crop insurance — through licensed private agents and brokers — to the maximum extent possible. FCIC also provides reinsurance (subsidy) to approved commercial insurers which insure agricultural commodities using FCIC-approved acceptable plans. Since 1998, the private insurance companies reinsured by FCIC have sold and serviced all Multiple Peril Crop Insurance authorized under the Federal Crop Insurance Act.