Four people have been reappointed to the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation board of directors: James Bardenhagen, John F. Finston, Iris V. Saenz and Kenneth Ray Sneed. Each will serve four-year terms.

The FCIC Board oversees the federal crop insurance program, managed by the USDA Risk Management Agency. The board reviews crop insurance products presented by outside parties and RMA and determines which programs will best help farmers and ranchers.

“We appreciate the good work and dedication of these four board members on behalf of American farmers and ranchers,” Vilsack said.

Four people have been reappointed to the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation board of directors. (Photo: serkanozalp/Thinkstock)

The Federal Crop Insurance Act requires that non-USDA board members represent core groups involved in managing farm risk. This includes four products, at least one of whom is a specialty crop producer; one individual involved in insurance, and one individual knowledgeable about reinsurance or regulation. The act also requires that the four producer board members come from diverse geographic areas and represent a cross-section of agricultural commodities.

Bardenhage, of Bardenhagen Farms, is specialty crop farmer growing apples, cherries, grapes, potatoes, hay and small grains in Suttons Bay, Michigan. He has been a participant in the crop insurance program for more than 16 years and was a Michigan State University Extension director in Leelanau County for 20 years.

Finston is general counsel and deputy commissioner for California’s Department of Insurance, an insurance regulator and an attorney in San Francisco, California. Before joining the California Department of Insurance he was in private practice focusing on insurance, reinsurance and insurance regulation for more than 30 years.

Saenz, a native of Premont, Texas, is a crop insurance agent and owner of South Texas Insurance Services in McAllen, Texas. She has sold and serviced crop insurance policies for more than 28 years. She is also owner of MonteDuro Land and Cattle Company.

Sneed, of Sneed Farms, is a third generation farmer growing soybeans, cotton, corn and wheat in partnership with his brothers in Drummonds, Tennessee, for 38 years. He has 21 years of experience with the crop insurance program.

Source: RMA