Three crops have been added to Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation’s coverage list for the upcoming season.
Camelina, soybeans and navy beans are now all insurable, agricultural minister Bob Bjornerud said last week.
In 2009, producers planted 25,000 acres of camelina, 15,000 acres of soybeans and 2,000 acres of navy beans.
Bjornerud announced details of the 2010 crop insurance program Feb. 24, noting that producers have until March 31 to sign up or make changes.
Overall, premiums are decreasing 16 percent on average because of an above average crop and lower prices. Coverage is also dropping about 10 percent.
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“The average producer premium, at the 70 percent coverage level, for 2010 is projected to be $6.03 per acre, down from $7.19 per acre last year,” Bjornerud said. “Due to these lower prices, however, the coverage will also be decreasing by 10 percent.”
Coverage will be an average of $122 per acre this year.
The 2010 program includes yield loss coverage for honey producers. Commercial flax and all classes of lentils and alfalfa seed are also now included in the contract price option.
“The contract price option gives producers the opportunity to insure their crops at the price at which they have it contracted,” Bjornerud explained.
All the new initiatives introduced last year will also continue.
Yield cushioning was a pilot program in 2009 and is now available province-wide.
Cushioning limits the impact of consecutive poor growing seasons on a producer’s coverage level. For example, those in areas of prolonged drought typically see coverage levels drop as their yields drop.
Bjornerud said the pilot project was well received.
“Producers in this pilot saw their coverage increase by an average of 10 percent last year,” he said.
SCIC general manager Cam Swan said the pilot allowed the corporation to make sure cushioning is sustainable and follows sound insurance principles. The 2010 program met with the approval of various producer organizations.
Saskatchewan Pulse Growers chair Murray Purcell said insurance for soybeans and navy beans, and including lentils in the contract price option feature, will help the industry grow and manage risk.
Swan added that 2009 payments have not all been finalized but indemnity is estimated at $75 million. The corporation had about $3.35 billion in liability last year.
“We’ll probably be at a net surplus of roughly $570 million across the program,” he said. “That is good news in that it stabilizes rates today and into the future.”
The corporation insured about 25 million acres last year, down slightly from 2008. Producers and the provincial and federal governments paid $434 million in premiums last year, down from $460 million in 2008.
Program information is available at www.saskcropinsurance.com.
