The record heat that scorched Prairie crops this summer is an all-too-recent memory for canola growers across the West. When temperatures rise during flowering, the resulting damage to a canola crop can be significant. Corteva Agriscience has announced a first-of-its-kind program to help protect growers against the economic losses associated with the yield losses from heat blast.
“Excessive heat can happen any year and while we hope the kind of temperatures we saw in 2021 were an isolated event, you can’t predict what will happen in any given year,” says Tyler Groeneveld, Commercial Grains and Oils Leader, North America with Corteva Agriscience. “The Heat Advantage Program is intended to provide Brevant seeds Nexera canola growers with a financial backstop against something they can’t control.”
The Heat Advantage program is available exclusively for Brevant seeds Nexera canola growers in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and provides up to $100 per acre of protection in the event of excess heat resulting in heat blast during the critical flowering stage of canola development. Heat blast occurs when the daytime temperatures rise above 28-30 C during the day, stressing the plant and stopping reproduction and pod development. It is further exacerbated when temperatures stay warm overnight – generally above 16 degrees – which prevents the plant from recovering from the shock of that daytime heat.
“Payouts do not require a time-consuming reporting process or yield loss determination, everything is measured and paid automatically and months ahead of traditional crop insurance.”
Grant Kosior, Global Ag Risk Solutions
In 2020 heat blast impacted 90 per cent of canola-growing townships in Canada and resulted in a national loss of more than 50 million bushels or $525 million of combined revenue, according to Global Ag Risk Solutions. While summers will vary, modelling shows average temperatures on the Prairies are expected to rise even more so than most other canola-growing regions over the next 60 years.
“Heat blast is a significant problem and can cause large economic losses,” says Grant Kosior, President and CEO of Global Ag Risk Solutions, which will be running The Heat Advantage Program, underwritten by the Northbridge General Insurance Corporation.
The Nexera canola trait offers western Canadian canola farmers a high-yielding canola crop that produces high-stability Omega-9 oil which has premium markets for health and product performance in the North American food industry. Demand for these specialty canola oils is on the rise, and the Nexera seed can only be grown under identity-preserved contract.
“Brevant seeds Nexera canola is the most profitable canola a farmer can grow,” says Groeneveld. “The customers who purchase this canola have shown they are willing to pay more for this canola for the properties if offers. We worked together with Global Ag Risk Solutions to be the first seed developer to include this important program in every bag of Brevant seeds Nexera canola. It’s an investment into a highly lucrative crop, and a way to protect the profitability of that crop going into the 2022 growing season.”
The Heat Advantage program will be paid in $5 per acre increments up to a maximum of $100 per acre. The program only covers heat blast, so it is not intended to replace provincial crop insurance programs which cover multiple perils. It will not increase the price of a bag of Nexera canola, as Corteva Agriscience has chosen to build the cost of the insurance into the current price of a bag of seed.
Data-driven, climate-based insurance
The program uses an industry-leading parametric temperature model which is backed by 40 years of climate and canola yield information. It determines when there are excess heat units given the specific flowering time in different growing regions across the Prairie provinces. Unlike other types of insurance, there is no reporting process, no trips to the field and no yield-loss measurement required.
“This program will be of specific interest to growers who don’t like giving away margin to things that are out of their control, such as the risks associated with climate,” says Kosior. “It is simple for them to manage as they are automatically enrolled with the purchase of a bag of seed, and they don’t have to apply to receive benefits.”
The data-driven process uses third-party temperature data recorded daily on a 6- by 6-mile grid, evaluating more than 7,500 measurement points for accuracy. It records excessive daytime/nighttime temperatures during the critical flowering stage and accumulates those readings as ‘Heat Blast Units,’ (HBUs). Once a crop has collected an excess of HBUs detailed in the policy coverage, it automatically triggers a payment directly to the farmer.
“We begin measuring heat units as soon as the crop is seeded,” says Kosior. “Using satellites, we determine risk on a township-by-township basis. We are looking for an event that causes loss, not the loss itself so the determination is simply based on 40 years of climate and canola yield information. Payouts do not require a time-consuming reporting process or yield loss determination, everything is measured and paid automatically and months ahead of traditional crop insurance.”
All canola growers in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba who book Brevant seeds Nexera canola before October 29, 2021 are eligible for The Heat Advantage program in 2022. For more information on the program, visit www.brevant.ca/nexera.
The Heat Advantage™ program is insurance underwritten by Northbridge General Insurance Corporation and arranged for by Global Ag Risk Solutions Corp under a policy to be issued to Corteva Agriscience Canada Company with effect on January 1, 2022. Policy terms, conditions, and exclusions apply. The Heat Advantage™ program is subject to change upon notice.
Learn more at Brevant.ca/nexera
