The federal and Saskatchewan governments have introduced changes to crop insurance offered by the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation (SCIC) in response to ongoing drought conditions and grasshopper damage impacting crop yields.

The change allows a greater number of acres with low-yielding crops to be repurposed for livestock feed, meaning customers will be able to bale, graze, or silage more crops without negatively affecting future individual coverage.

For example, the 2023 threshold level for oats was initially set at 10 bushels per acre. However, with the doubled low yield appraisal, producers intending to utilize oats for feed can now operate at a threshold of 20 bushels per acre.

“This change to the low yield threshold aims to help producers make critical decisions about how to move forward with their crop and feed requirements,” said Marie-Claude Bibeau, federal minister of agriculture and agri-food.

“Many producers have been in this unfortunate situation before, due to the risks associated with climate change, which is why we are so committed to finding agricultural innovations that will increase resiliency going forward.”

A similar measure in 2021 resulted in over 345,000 additional acres of crops being redirected for livestock feed, according to David Marit, Saskatchewan’s minister of agriculture.

 “We are seeing dry pockets and grasshopper damage throughout the province, particularly in the southwest,” said Marit. “We are committed to supporting our farmers and ranchers to lessen the impact of these challenging conditions, and I want to encourage crop producers to again work with neighbouring livestock producers to make feed available.”

The Saskatchewan government has also introduced other measures to support producers affected by challenging weather conditions.

Producers who graze Crown lands may qualify for a reduction in rental fees by 20-50% if they must decrease stocking rates by 20% or more than their rated carrying capacity.

 Furthermore, producers enrolled in AgriStability for 2023 have the option to apply for an interim benefit, which allows them to access 50% of their estimated final benefit.

Source - https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com