![Planet Money show](https://d3dthqtvwic6y7.cloudfront.net/podcast-covers/000/026/080/small/npr-planet-money.jpg)
Summary: <p>In spite of the drought, many U.S. farmers will do just fine this year. They are, after all, covered by crop insurance — a program that costs U.S. taxpayers $7 billion a year.</p><p>On today's show, we travel to Fairbury, Illinois. We meet three generations of farmers who tell us that, even without government-subsidized crop insurance, their farms would survive the drought.</p><p>So why does the government spend so much on crop insurance programs? We talk to an ag economist who has a surprising answer.</p>