There is good news for farmers who don’t get all their seeds in the ground this year.
The 2012 crop insurance program includes an unseeded acreage benefit of up to $100 per eligible acre.
This is just one of the improvements announced today, by the provincial and federal governments as they rolled out this year’s program.
"With stronger and broader coverage, Crop Insurance is now better positioned to help producers manage the risk of excess moisture and flooding," said Garry Breitkreuz, MP from Yorkton-Melville, in a press release.
This year’s provincial crop budget is $177 million, which works to about $174 per acre, on average — a record.
New this year, producers can supplement the unseeded acreage benefit of $70 per eligible acre by purchasing either $15 or $30 per acre in additional coverage.
Other changes include, crop insurance covering commercial fruit growers for the replacement of Saskatoon bushes, dwarf sour cherry and haskap fruit trees, and yield cushioning is also being extended to include forage crops.
With the changes to the program, there will be no AgriRecovery program for weather-related disasters in 2012.
All levels of government advocate for producers to consider enrolling in crop insurance for 2012. The deadline for customers to apply for, make changes to, or cancel their crop insurance contract is March 31, 2012. More information is available at saskcropinsurance.com or by calling 1-888-935-0000.
Under the Growing Forward Agricultural Policy Framework, Crop Insurance is cost-shared on a 60:40 basis between the Government of Canada and Government of Saskatchewan.
Source - News Talk Radio