A fantastic business- government pays 75% of lost revenues, while all upside is for keeps (minus taxes).

Farmers May Gain Amid Drought With U.S.-Backed Insurance - Businessweek: "In 2011, with a drought in Texas and other weather woes, government-run crop-insurance programs paid out a record $10.8 billion. Of premiums paid in 2011, farmers chipped in $4.5 billion, while the government paid $7.4 billion, according to data published by the department.

Because of the program’s reinsurance rules, insurers made a $1.7 billion profit even with those record payouts, while the government took an underwriting loss of about $500 million, Pat Engel, a spokeswoman for the USDA Risk Management Agency, said in an e-mail.

‘Never Whole’
Jeff Scates, who farms corn and soybeans on 15,000 acres in Shawneetown, Illinois, said this year demonstrates the need for an effective insurance program. He said he may lose as much as 80 percent of his crop because of the dry conditions. With insurance, he said he can recoup 75 percent of his potentially lost revenues."

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