ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with a chronology of events that affected agricultural practices and crop development during the growing season, and discusses the resulting effects on crop yields, the crop insurance industry, the commodity market, total grain production, and losses suffered by the agricultural sector. Given the perilous journey of corn and soybean crops through the excessively wet, cool 1993 growing season and early frosts, coupled with millions of floodplain acres with flooded-out crops, many wondered just how low the crop yields would be. The ever-worsening weather situation during the growing season ultimately caused crop production forecasts to be continually revised downward during the 1993 season. The flood and extremely wet conditions in the Midwest had profound effects on the crop insurance industry as a result of crop losses and their associated payments, as well as existing problems in government policies relating to crop insurance and relief payments.
