Saskatchewan honey producers who suffer losses due to bear damage will now be compensated under the wildlife damage compensation program, administered by the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation.
Compensation is now available for bear damage to bee hives and huts, loss of honey production, and loss of honey bees and leaf cutter bee larvae.
“Bears cause significant damage to bee hives every year in Saskatchewan,” agriculture minister Bob Bjornerud said in a prepared release. “By compensating honey producers for these losses, we are continuing our commitment to improving the Crop Insurance program.”
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The annual cost of this program improvement is estimated at $200,000.
“Improving this program to help cover the costs associated with bears and bear damage is good news for Saskatchewan beekeepers,” Saskatchewan Beekeepers Association president Calvin Parsons said. “Bear damage has always been more than the lost equipment. Bear damage for beekeepers includes the lost honey and the costs associated with replacing the honeybees themselves.”
The program also provides compensation on all seeded commercial crops, stacked hay, silage, bales, market gardens, tree nurseries and sod farms for damage caused by white-tailed deer, mule deer, antelope, elk, moose, bison, bears, ducks, geese and sandhill cranes that have not been held in captivity.
Beginning in 2009, producers receive 100 per cent compensation for wildlife damage for any claim of $150 and over. The first 80 per cent is cost-shared by federal and provincial governments; the provincial government contributes the remaining amount. There are no producer premiums and producers do not require a crop insurance contract in order to receive compensation.
For more information or to register a claim, producers can contact their local crop insurance office.
