Claims that we might see the largest and most profitable harvest in U.S. history are being called into question by a series of weather anomalies that are breaking historic records of their own and inflicting major damage to America's heartland.

A cold spring, followed by heavy, constant rain and flooding in the corn belt, has resulted in delayed planting causing a significant amount of anxiety among producers in certain parts of the country.

The flooding that has swept through Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi and now Louisiana, may lead to a loss of up to five million acres of crops. Some agriculturalists say that by the time the water recedes in the next week or two, it will be too late for crop recovery or replanting.

Unfortunately, other parts of the country having endured months of drought are starving for rainfall and dealing with deteriorating crops.

The National Agricultural Statistics Service shows half the winter wheat in Kansas—the nation's largest wheat producer—is now rated in poor to very poor condition. And reports are even worse to the south, where the majority of the Oklahoma and Texas winter wheat crops are in poor to very poor condition as well. In fact, among the 18 major winter wheat-growing states overall, a total of 42 percent of the crop is rated to be in poor to very poor condition.

With these unprecedented weather patterns, market conditions that have some comparing the state of the farming industry to the real estate bubble, and rising input costs, our farmers—and the farm economy—could be in jeopardy.

Fortunately, for most farmers, there is a viable backstop available in federal crop insurance. In fact, crop insurance does cover the vast majority of these crops, with farmer participation in crop insurance at historic highs. In 2010, nearly 80 percent of the U.S. crop—256 million acres of farmland—was covered, with even higher percentages purchased on wheat, corn and soybean acres.

Incredibly, even when flooding and drought bear witness to the exceptional risks farmers face, there have been proposals offered by some in Government to eliminate the federal/private partnership of crop insurance. Even the conservative American Enterprise Institute has written that comprehensive crop insurance would not be a viable business model without federal cost share.

The fact is rural America props up 21 million domestic jobs while supplying food, fuel, and fiber for a country of 300 million, as well as other countries around the world. It is the most fundamental, and most important industry we have as a nation. Should that bubble burst, the impact would be immense.

In this sense, both farmers and our nation need a safety net, and crop insurance is an efficient and effective means of providing it. Indeed, for every $1 invested by taxpayers, crop insurance leverages more than $20 worth of coverage. Moreover, when the bottom does fall out, private insurance companies who have spread their risk in the reinsurance markets provide the contractual assistance to the farmers, leaving taxpayers unburdened.

There is a thin green line that protects our nation's security. We will never be able to predict the weather, and nature does not pause to grieve. We must move forward through the flood and the drought, because when food production is thwarted, hunger does not stop, and with a population expected to reach 9 billion in the next 40 years, we should ask ourselves: is it worth the risk?