By Alice McFarlane

Business risk management programs to payout nearly $2 billion

Nov 10, 2023 | 12:23 PM

It wasn’t as bad as the catastrophic 2021 drought; however, Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation (SCIC) has estimated payments for 2023 will reach $1.85 billion.

A large part of Saskatchewan suffered through a third consecutive drought this year. It was not as bad as the 2021 drought with SCIC payments at 1.4 billion dollars in 2022. By comparison, payments in 2018 were $265 million, $260 million in 2019 and $188 million in 2020.

Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister David Marit said it’s been another challenging year in some parts of the province and the programs in place have provided some help.

“Our suite of Business Risk Management Programs continues to respond to support farmers and ranchers,” Marit said. “With a forecast of nearly $2 billion in support, I continue to encourage all producers to continually reassess options available through the full suite of Business Risk Management Programs.”

Under the Sustainable Canadian Agriculture Partnership (Sustainable CAP), producers can access support provided by the federal and Saskatchewan governments.

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AgriStability protects Canadian producers against large declines in farming income for reasons such as production loss, increased costs, and market conditions.

Crop Insurance is a federal-provincial-producer cost-shared program that helps producers manage production and quality losses.

AgriRecovery is a federal-provincial-territorial disaster relief framework to help agricultural producers with the extraordinary costs associated with recovering from disaster situations. AgriRecovery initiatives are cost-shared on a 60:40 basis between the federal government and participating provinces or territories.

Most producers are eligible for advance payments on claims, allowing money to flow to producers before claims are completely verified. Total Crop Insurance claim payouts remain a forecast as the deadline for Crop Insurance customers to report their detailed net production and register a claim is Nov 15.

Throughout the growing season, additional supports were announced through SCIC.

In July, the federal and provincial governments announced a supplemental freight adjustment to support producers who experienced over-winter wildlife damage to their stacked forage. The announcement also included provincial-wide support for changes to the existing prevention program.

In August, as dry conditions negatively impacted crop yields, including forage crops, SCIC doubled the low yield appraisal thresholds, working with producers salvaging grain crops for livestock feed.

In September, the federal and provincial governments announced over 90 per cent of insured Forage Rainfall Insurance Program (FRIP) acres received a payout for 2023. The total 2023 FRIP payout was $60 million.

Effective for the 2023 program year, the AgriStability compensation rate increased from 70 per cent to 80 per cent. The benefit payment will be 80 cents for every dollar of decline below the trigger point.

Producers are forecasted to receive $115 million in the form of matching government contributions through the AgriInvest Program in 2023. As of October 2023, Saskatchewan producers collectively have over $1 billion in their individual AgriInvest accounts

An additional $147 million in federal/provincial support is available through the 2023 Canada-Saskatchewan Feed Program. Producers can submit their applications, review eligibility and find additional details online.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @farmnewsNOW