Growers of irrigated timothy in Saskatchewan can reduce their risks this crop year through the introduction of a trial crop insurance program.
The program deadline is March 31.
The pilot project, available to Outlook area farmers, will offer coverage on first and second cut hay bound for export markets in Asia.
Shawn Jaques, manager of customer service with Saskatchewan Crop Insurance, said timothy is a high input, intensively managed crop that requires much record keeping.
He said those records helped crop insurance design its coverage program.
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“The big risk is the quality component,” he said, noting last year’s rainy weather hampered baling and lowered quality.
The coverage, the first ever offered for irrigated timothy in the province, was developed after producers expressed a need for it, he said.
Jaques said the face of agriculture is changing, with farmers switching to specialized crops like timothy.
“We wanted to develop and design a program that would help manage the risk of that industry,” he said.
B.J. Boot, an Outlook area timothy hay producer and processor, said the insurance will help the industry expand. He said both growers and lenders need that security.
“No one can afford big risks these days.”
The insurance will allow producers to break even in poor growing years like 2004.
“It takes those huge losses out and puts a floor in it for us,” said Boot.
The program offers two-cut coverage to producers who established timothy stands before June 15, 2004. Those crops seeded from Aug. 1 to Sept. 15, 2004, are only eligible for one-cut coverage, with coverage levels at 50, 60 and 70 percent.
The approximate per acre premium on one-cut hay is $2.56 at 50 percent, $5.72 at 60 percent and $8.96 at 70 percent.
On two-cut hay, the premium is $5.44 at 50 percent coverage, $12.11 at 60 percent and $19.04 at 70 percent.
The insured price is calculated using a five-year average based on the average annual price for choice grade. The 2005 price is $151.50 a tonne.
Producers can apply for the program through the customer service office in Rosetown, Sask.
