The following statement is attributable to Bill Campbell, president, Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP):
“We commend Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development and Manitoba Agricultural Service Corporation (MASC) for undertaking a review of Manitoba Forage Insurance and for releasing the full contents of the review publicly. The contents of this review will help government better understand risk management behaviour and insurance purchasing decisions of Manitoba forage producers.
Manitoba forage producers continue to face challenges including inadequate coverage levels, payment timing not reflective of the cash flow requirements, limited options relating to crop quality, and others. Participation in the forage insurance program continues to decline.
The recommendations outlined in the review are a huge step forward to addressing these challenges. We are looking forward to working with MASC and providing input on:
- examining new ways to assign coverages to producers
- reducing red tape so that more producers can participate
- adopting an approach that relies on weather or satellite-based technology
- enhance future programming to include options that reflect modern dairy operations’ forage crop choices.
- creating forage insurance payments timeline that are effective for operational cash flow management
We also look forward to provincial government developing a livestock forage insurance team to help improve the effectiveness of forage insurance program and support the growth of Manitoba’s livestock sector.”
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