Crop farmers suffering from the drought that is wreaking havoc across the United States may still make out relatively well, due to a taxpayer-subsidized insurance program that Congress appears poised to augment.

Farmers "are laughing all the way to the bank," said Bruce Babcock, an Iowa State University economist and a critic of the insurance program, at a Washington, D.C., presentation this month. "If the price goes up, you could end up better off than anticipated if you have a crop loss."

He added, "I'm not saying this is anything illegal or immoral. It's just the way it is."

Senators passed a bill that would cause the premiums of new farmers to drop, increase cotton growers' insurance and permit farmers to purchase a supplemental policy. The Congressional Budget Office indicates the changes in the Senate bill would cost an additional $5 billion over the next 10 years. In the House, the Agriculture Committee pushed forward a similar provision.

The Department of Agriculture said 1,369 counties in 31 states -- or 44 percent of those in the country -- were designated disaster areas because of drought conditions (Drajem/Bjerga , Bloomberg, July 26). -- WW