How to be a disaster farmer...

Step 1: Farm as much ground, preferably poor, as you can. This means renting land a long distance away, mostly from absentee landlords who want more for their piss-poor ground than the locals will pay.

Step 2: Insure the land for as much as you (or your lender) can stand. 85% RA coverage is preferable.

Step 3: Put on the minimum amount of fertilizer, use cheap seed, and spray cheap chemicals.

Step 4: Claim a disaster when a record amount of corn and soybeans are grown. Get payments from both the insurance company and the USDA.

Step 5: Get your name listed on the Environmental Working Groups website. Click here, here, and here for examples.

This operation, from Missouri, used to custom farm the land I currently rent. They are the MASTERS of disaster farming.

This one blows me away - how can I person get $80K in disaster payments when they only have
only about 40 acres of crops (Direct payments / $20/acre, the average direct payment).

Normally I am supportive of other farmers, but these guys give the rest of us bad names. They are in it not to grow crops, but to scam the insurance companies and the USDA.