Strawberry fields hit by winterkill

Fruit growers’ association would like to see crop insurance made available to its 
sector to help stabilize incomes against these kinds of losses

Some strawberry growers will have fewer berries on offer this season, due to an unusually cold winter killing off many of their plants. These growers are reporting losses of anywhere from 20 per cent to about half their crop gone. Their fields couldn’t withstand the intense periods of cold we experienced this past winter, said

(Dave Bedard photo)

U.S. House clears farm bill, with major food stamps changes

Washington | Reuters — The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved a massive Republican farm bill with changes to the government food stamps program that make it unlikely to become law in this form. The Senate is considering its own farm bill with no major changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) used


Hail as big as baseballs fell in some areas. This hail was collected in Manitou.

Hail takes a toll on southern Manitoba crops

Recovery depends on the extent of damage and crop stage. Some farmers are re-seeding

The Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC) is still assessing hail claims from an intense thunder storm that swept across much of southwest and south-central Manitoba the evening of June 14. As of press time Monday morning MASC had received 250 spot loss hail claims and 120 re-seeding claims as a result of hail damage, David

Flea beetles are present in Manitoba canola fields every year, but this year’s infestation is worse than usual.

Worst year ever for flea beetles?

June 10 is the deadline for full crop insurance coverage in Canola Area 2

If you think flea beetles are worse this year, you’re not alone. “I haven’t done formal surveying, but I feel pretty confident in saying yes, it is absolutely worse this year,” Angela Brackenreed, the Canola Council of Canada’s eastern Manitoba agronomy specialist, said June 7. “From my personal experience, not that I am long in


Winter wheat claims have been the largest issue with crop insurance so far this season.

Crop insurance working on claims

Last week the focus was on winterkilled winter wheat, but some reseeding claims are expected following strong winds

Manitoba’s long winter and cold spring wasn’t kind to many Manitoba winter wheat crops, says an official with the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC), which administers the federal provincial crop insurance program. Meanwhile, MASC is also expecting to get reseeding claims following last week’s high winds. “We’ve had the one canola claim (from the Portage

Scott Moe discusses plans to lift the PST off insurance premiums in a Canadian Taxpayers Federation video. (CTF video screengrab via YouTube)

Saskatchewan pulls sales tax off farm insurance

Saskatchewan’s provincial government has reinstated a provincial sales tax (PST) exemption for agriculture, health and life insurance premiums. Premier Scott Moe on Monday announced the exemption will take effect retroactive to Aug. 1 last year, when the PST was first applied to insurance. The province said the exemption will include PST on premiums paid for


(FarmersEdge.ca)

Farmers Edge to use data to edge into insurance sector

Farmers Edge has signed a four-year agreement with global reinsurance company PartnerRe to bring precision farming technology together with ag insurance. Under the agreement announced this week, the two companies plan to work together to develop new insurance products for the agricultural market. While Canadian farmers have access to government-run, subsidized crop insurance programs, as

A field of wheat felled by hail. Producers at the meeting referred to some of the insured prices as "a joke."

MASC comes under fire at organic insurance update

Producers call organic insurance ‘a joke’ while MASC says it’s already a money-loser

Organic producers are not happy with their crop insurance. Maurice Gaultier, Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC) insurance sales and service manager for the southern region, faced pointed questions Jan. 18 during his organic insurance update at Ag Days. MASC and the Manitoba Organic Alliance have been looking for a middle road on insurance for months.


Small crop insurance payout in 2017

Small crop insurance payout in 2017

As a result $150 million has been added to the program’s reserve fund

The final tally isn’t in but total Manitoba crop insurance payouts in 2017 are currently estimated at around $60 million. That shouldn’t be a surprise given collectively farmers enjoyed above-average yields for many crops, even setting some new records. The Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC) will release its 2017 yield data in Yield Manitoba, Feb.

Manitoba agriculture minister, Ralph Eichler.

Lower premiums for crop insurance in 2018

The unpopular pre-harvest deductible on corn and soybeans is gone, 
there’s coverage for novel crops and hail coverage options have been raised

Insuring soybeans in Manitoba will be a lot cheaper this year, with premiums dropping an average of 17 per cent. That’s the biggest move in an across-the-board premium drop that sees an average reduction on all crops of seven per cent, Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler said while speaking at Ag Days here Jan. 16. Other