Ontario crop growers taking part in the province’s Risk Management Program (RMP) can now pencil out different post-harvest scenarios online.
Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) on Monday launched a new web-based RMP calculator, just as the province’s farm program agency Agricorp released its 2010 pre-harvest payment information for the RMP pilot extension.
“The goal of RMP has always been predictability and bankability and GFO wants to ensure that aspect of the program is fulfilled in a comprehensive and accessible format,” GFO public affairs manager Erin Fletcher said in a release.
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The RMP calculator is meant for a grower to measure how the program will assess his or her farm’s 2010 production, under a range of price scenarios.
Growers can enter their individual acreage and crop mix into the calculator and change the coverage levels to determine the best possible outcome, GFO said.
The calculator would also allow a grower to enter an expected post-harvest price to run potential post-harvest scenarios.
The post-harvest prices for corn and soybeans are the daily average for Chatham delivery from October 2010 through to March 2011. The winter wheat post-harvest price is calculated from July to December 2010 using a weighted average daily price from a range of buyers, including GFO (wheat board), terminals and elevators.
Agricorp plans to mail premium invoices to eligible RMP participants next month and expects to start delivering payments by the end of February.
Depending on participants’ coverage level, payments for this RMP pricing period will be made on black beans, canola, corn and seed corn, hard red winter wheat, Japan and “other” beans, organic winter wheat, popping corn, soft red winter wheat, soft white winter wheat, soybeans, spring grain and spring wheat.
The organization emphasized in its release that participation in the RMP pilot is “a key factor in the evaluation of the program and also may determine future eligibility for growers.”
RMP, the organization added, “was always intended to be an insurance-type program to be invested in for the long term and GFO hopes this will continue to be a consideration for those determining their participation in 2010.”
