The Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association (SSGA) welcomes the enhancements announced today by the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation (SCIC). The enhancements will improve coverage against damage to forage crops.
“The dry conditions of the last two years have shown that producers need risk management programs that they can count on. The enhancements announced today make forage insurance coverage more reflective of local precipitation conditions and forage production capacity,” said Henry McCarthy, who attended the announcement on behalf of SSGA President Bill Huber. “These enhancements are a positive step in enabling producers to better manage their forage production risks.”
For 2019, coverage levels offered on the forage rainfall insurance program will triple in some soil zones for tame grazing and will increase over one and a half times for native grazing acres. The increased coverage will better reflect actual production capacity and will allow producers to customize their coverage according to their risk comfort level.
The number of weather stations will be boosted by 30 per cent, meaning that most farms and ranches will be located within 30 kilometres of a station. The data collected by these stations will provide a more precise indication of highly-localized rainfall statistics, making for more accurate assessment of forage losses. Previously, some producers had indicated weather stations were too far away from their land and did not accurately show the true weather situation for that land.
The SCIC also announced enhancements to corn coverage. With corn growing in popularity as a grain and forage crop, the addition of a $90 establishment benefit and the corn rainfall program, which has up to $300 per acre coverage options will help to level the playing field with other grain crops.
The SSGA has been advocating for changes to the forage insurance program. At the Annual General Meeting last June, members passed a resolution calling for dialogue with SCIC to improve the scope of coverage and coverage levels.
“We appreciate SCIC responding to producers’ concerns,” McCarthy said. “They have been actively engaged with the industry’s forage working group, and they have been able to implement almost all of our original recommendations.”
