Reading Time: 3 minutes Agriculture is leading the charge into research which could ultimately mean flood insurance being available for all Albertans. As the massive flooding of 2013 highlighted, there is no insurance for such disasters. In fact, Canada is the only one of the G-8 nations without such coverage. ‘Why not?’ is the question that always arises when […] Read more
Flood simulation model promises a big payback
Insurers won’t issue flood insurance until they have a better way to calculate risks — and the flood simulation model does that
Farmers seeing “incremental” changes to risk management funding
Election 2015: Pulse Growers chair cites tightened eligibility qualifications
Reading Time: 2 minutes Maintaining Alberta’s risk management funding is “critical” for farmers who are facing “extreme uncertainty,” said the chair of Alberta Pulse Growers. “Money has been steadily reduced in a lot of the risk management programs at AFSC,” said Allison Ammeter. “Farmers need that if we’re going to be able to stay in the industry and keep […] Read more
Updated CropChoiCe$ available
Software tool allows users to choose from 40 different crops
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development has released the 2015 version of Cropchoice$. The software tool allows users to choose from 40 different crops and evaluate eight different scenarios. Each scenario can accommodate 32 fields. Users can either use their own costs and land rents to build their crop plan or use the AgriProfit$ costs already […] Read more
No hill of beans — soybeans get a boost with expanded insurance plan
The New Crops Insurance Initiative, which also covers forages and other special crops, will give coverage for soybeans in specified areas
Reading Time: 2 minutes Soybeans are here to stay in Alberta and the announcement they now qualify for Agricultural Financial Services Crop insurance coverage is expected to boost acreage. “There were a number of people who were waiting for that program to be in place before growing soybeans, so I see it as a positive step for expanding the […] Read more
Small farm ‘toys’ pack a mighty punch
Drones are getting off the ground in Alberta, in no small part thanks to their practical applications on livestock and grain farms
Reading Time: 3 minutes Drones may seem like a fun toy — but on the farm, these fancy fliers mean business. “At the end of the day, you want better information to make better decisions, and that’s what they give you,” said Steve Myshak, owner of Ventus Geospatial in Lethbridge. “That’s the bottom line on why you want to […] Read more
Manitoba seeks more climate-responsive risk management
A Manitoba provincial task force has been set up to seek ways in which farm risk management programs could be “more comprehensive and sustainable” in handling “climate-related challenges” such as floods. “Manitoba’s farmers have told us existing agricultural programs can’t adequately address these climate-related challenges, especially as they become more common,” Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn […] Read more
Manitoba to boost insurance coverage on pedigreed soybeans
Increased coverage for pedigreed soybeans is among the changes planned for Manitoba’s provincial crop insurance program for the 2015 growing season. Soybeans are expected to be the largest pedigreed seed crop in Manitoba this year, the province said in a release, and the increased coverage is expected to reflect the “additional cost” of producing the […] Read more
Ontario eyes expanding production insurance
Ontario’s government plans to give itself more latitude to expand its farm production insurance offerings. The province said Wednesday it’s proposing to amend its Crop Insurance Act and grant itself authority to expand production insurance beyond just crops. That authority already is available to every other provincial government in Canada, the province noted. “Giving more […] Read more
Farmers still waiting for better default protection on grain sales
Leaving feed mills exempt from coverage under existing licensing and bonding puts farmers at risk to losses
Reading Time: 3 minutes In 2009, western Canadian farm groups submitted a report to Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz outlining options for a program to provide security to producers when grain buyers default on payments. The main options were fund-based, insurance-based or bond-based programs. It was not that there wasn’t already a form of protection in place. The Canadian Grain […] Read more
Deadline for insuring crops is April 30
Changes to this year’s program include Straight Hail coverage and lower premiums
Reading Time: 2 minutes Farmers should be thinking of risk management as the April 30 crop insurance deadline approaches, says Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC). “Most producers will invest $200 to $300 or more per acre into their crops over the growing season, and they don’t want to risk losing that to a hailstorm or some other unexpected weather […] Read more
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