NEW YORK (Bloomberg) — The president of the largest US crop-insurance trade group said there's been no change to the government's plan to spend $6 billion less to subsidise farmer policies.

"The $6 billion cut is still a $6 billion cut," Bob Parkerson, the head of National Crop Insurance Services, an Overland Park, Kansas-based representative of more than 60 insurers, said yesterday in a teleconference with reporters. Some companies have said they may not be able to participate in the crop-insurance programme with the planned cuts, which would be spread over 10 years, Parkerson said.

Crop-insurance groups that include Wells Fargo & Co. and Ace Ltd. are in talks with the US Department of Agriculture on federal support for insurance plans.

Under the USDA's proposal announced June 10, payments for government-subsidised administrative costs would be capped at $1.3 billion next year, with the limit rising annually to $1.37 billion in 2015.