New crop insurance for Saskatchewan vegetable growers will help the industry grow, says the president of the Saskatchewan Vegetable Growers Association.
Shawn Hansen is pleased with the 10 producers who signed up for the pilot program, created by the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp. for the 2005 growing season.
“It more than mitigates the risk,” he said. “At the very least, it should allow them to sleep at night.”
Crop insurance was not previously available to vegetable growers.
“You were on your own,” he said.
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Colleen Rooney, of the corporation’s new crops program, said the pilot will test the effectiveness of insurance coverage for eligible growers across Saskatchewan.
“We hope to see if the program works, if the producer is pleased with it and if we need anything different,” she said.
The deadline was March 31 to sign up for the program, which offers insurance at 50, 60 and 70 percent coverage levels.
Acres must be irrigated, the insured varieties must be adapted to the area where they are grown and the site must be suitable for the crop.
Under the program, the producer premium per acre on Basket 1 (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage) and Basket 2 (less than five acres of potatoes, onions, rutabagas, beets and carrots) is $41.47 at 50 percent, $49.77 at 60 percent and $58.06 at 70 percent.
On Basket 3 (cucumbers, pumpkins and squash), premiums are $48.38 at 50 percent, $58.06 at 60 percent and $67.74 at 70 percent.
On Basket 4 (peas, beans and sweet corn), premiums are $24.19 at 50 percent, $29.03 at 60 percent and $33.87 at 70 percent.
