Brad Mette Case

May 2 for most farmers would revolve around finish planting beans, post-crop emergence chemical application, or applying nitrogen to the corn crops via side dress bar. In some unfortunate years due to conditions that are out of human control, those events are prevented from taking place. This is the situation that Brad Mette and I witnessed in Marion County (near Salem, IL) on Thursday, May 2. Due to a very wet spring, farmers in the area are still attempting to plant the corn crop. Some for a second time, while others are still on their first attempt. You could see the stress, frustration, and worry on the faces of farmers as you heard them talk of the difficult spring. Brad Mette works as a Crop Insurance Specialist for Farm Credit Illinois …show more content…
The member was hopeful that he might be able to still get a small window to plant his corn, but decided to have a meeting to discuss his options in the event he wasn’t able to plant. With rain hitting them the night before and more scheduled on the way, the hope of planting wasn’t looking the best. As the conversation continued, I could tell how Brad empathized with the farmer. The times facing the family were not good ones, so being there to listen and provide support for an hour or two was the least we could do. While the conversation continued, dinner time was soon approaching. We offered to treat the farmer and his help to lunch, which they agreed …show more content…
The first question that got us started was what kind of insurance Brad offered, and which types producers used most often. Roughly 95% of Brad’s customers use Revenue Protection Crop Insurance, which is no surprise as there are numerous benefits with that plan. The other main plan that his customers use would be GRIP, which takes the county yield average and pays farmers based on that information. Those are really the only two plans that Brad offers to his