Manitoba farmers will see enhancements to coverage through AgriInsurance in the upcoming year.
“Our government understands the importance of stability and proactively managing risks that threaten the viability of the farm,” said federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay. “These enhancements to AgriInsurance offer Manitoba farmers greater options to help them protect their operations against the financial impact of crop losses.”
AgriInsurance coverage for 2019 is expected to exceed $2.8 billion on 9.5 million acres in Manitoba, the highest level of coverage on record. With premium rates down by an average of more than seven per cent compared to last year, and dollar values up slightly, producers will receive more coverage for less premium in 2019.
“Flexible and affordable insurance for our farmers is critical to combat potential financial losses,” said Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler. “These enhancements to AgriInsurance were made directly in response to our industry and producers’ needs.”
Program changes for the 2019 growing season include:
• introduction of separate yield coverage for hybrid and open pollinated fall rye, which will ensure producers have coverage that is more reflective of the productive capacity of their fall rye crop;
• a higher dollar value for seed potatoes to account for the higher cost of production and higher market value;
• the list of crops eligible for organic insurance will be expanded to include barley, field peas and hemp grain;
• dollar values for organic crops will increase due to an update in how the dollar values are determined; and
• livestock and forage producers will benefit from a change in the way poor quality forages are adjusted for claim purposes, which will result in payments that better reflect actual losses due to low quality.
More than 8,000 farms are enrolled in AgriInsurance. Manitoba has the highest level of AgriInsurance participation in Canada with over 90 per cent of annual crop acres enrolled.
AgriInsurance is provided for over 70 different annual crops and forages during establishment and production, as well as the inability to seed land in the spring due to wet conditions.
Under AgriInsurance, premiums for most programs are shared 40 per cent by participating producers, 36 per cent by the Government of Canada and 24 per cent by the Manitoba government.
AgriInsurance is a risk management program administered by the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC).
Source : Steinbachonline