WINNIPEG – Uninsured farmers unable to seed their fields this year due to floods can’t expect money from the provincial government.
Brian Halstead of Manitoba Crop Insurance Corporation said less than 300 farmers bought optional flood insurance this year that covers loss of land use. Most of them are in the Red River Valley.
“There’s virtually nobody insured in (the Assiniboine River Valley),” Halstead said, adding claims won’t be in until the end of the month.
Farmers with damaged fences and those who lost hay bales to floods can apply for compensation from the Manitoba government.
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The Manitoba Disaster Assistance Board covers damages to property such as fences, grain bins, baled hay and buildings. But it does not provide compensation for loss of use of land, including pastures.
The board estimates about 200 farmers from 40 rural municipalities will apply for flooding compensation this year, said spokesperson Sid Reimer.
Million in damages
Reimer said the disaster assistance board expects private claims of $1 million for damage, most coming from people in the Assiniboine River Valley in western Manitoba. So far, more than 80 people in the region have filed claims.
Applications can be picked up and filed at local municipal offices. After an application is filed, board officials examine the property to make an assessment. Compensation will be issued for 80 percent of the assessed damage, to a maximum of $30,000.
Provincial agriculture minister Harry Enns said he knows some farmers are in “serious trouble,” but the government does not plan to provide additional compensation.
“That’s a difficult call,” Enns said. “The call is made more difficult because … many other areas of the province have been impacted by too much water as well, not just this year but in other years.”
Enns said governments are reluctant to provide this sort of compensation because farmers could have insured the land against floods.
