The three-year project is currently field testing different mitigation strategies on livestock predation, including GPS tracking technology and game cameras.

Janine Wilmot, wildlife conflict biologist and member of the province’s Livestock and Predation Working Group, noted that the GPS alerts, in particular, give farmers a better chance of actually finding a carcass.

The Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC) requires a carcass and sufficient evidence that an animal was killed for a successful claim under their wildlife damage compensation program.

“One thing I liked about them being able to track the movement of the livestock is that (the farmers) do receive an alert that indicates that they’re running for some unknown reason or whatever the case may be,” Wilmot said.

Predation claims have been a sticking point in outdoor livestock sectors for years. Farmers have previously expressed frustration over adjuster responsiveness, or lack of option in cases where livestock are taken and no carcass can be found.

Game cameras, however, confirm the presence and type of predators that may be in the area, pilot lead Ray Bittner suggested during a June 21 field day.

Adjusters require enough carcass to establish that an animal was attacked and was alive at the time of the attack, such as signs of a struggle, field day attendees heard. Producers can expect 90 per cent of an animal’s value in those cases.

Where cases are more dubious, such as if a carcass is too eaten to establish life at the time of attack, that coverage drops to 45 per cent of an animal’s value. Skeletons in the field, or lack of a carcass, lead to no payout.

MASC will work off photos, and producers were encouraged to take as many as possible as soon as possible after a loss, attendees were told. Producers were also told to report the claim within 72 hours for the best chance of success.

Even if a farmer can’t get compensation for a loss, Wilmot said, producers may still want to call their local conservation office.

In some cases, such as with a cougar, which is a protected species, kills are not eligible under MASC’s program, she noted, but added that conservation offices would certainly want to know if there are local issues with that kind of animal.

“They’re monitoring what’s occurring on the landscape in their area,” she said. “There are other management actions that can be taken by provincial staff if it’s felt to be warranted for that particular situation, but if they’re not aware of what’s happening on the landscape, they don’t have the ability to even contemplate some of those additional actions.”

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About 10 per cent of calves in Manitoba are insured annually under the Western Livestock Price Insurance Program (WLPIP), said David Van Deynze, vice-president of innovation and product support with MASC.

By comparison, about 90 per cent of annual crop acres are insured.

WLPIP began in Alberta in 2009 and came to Manitoba in 2014. The program has participating producers pay a premium to receive forward price coverage in a select time frame. If in that time frame that market price falls below the coverage level, the producer is paid out.

WLPIP offers calf, feeder and fed cattle policies with varying ranges of coverage. Hog policies are also available, but MASC reports show that none have been purchased in the last five years.

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, markets have become more uncertain. Shutdowns of large processing facilities have caused a backlog of cattle. At the beginning of May, the Canadian Cattlemen Association estimated the backlog was at 100,000 with more being added daily.

Those plants have since largely resumed processing, but other uncertainties — such as the possibility of a second wave of COVID-19 or U.S. President Donald Trump’s musings mid-May on cutting down beef imports into the country — remain.

WLPIP premiums and coverage levels are market based and shift accordingly. Volatility in the markets has increased premiums exactly when some producers seem more interested in buying policies.

Too expensive?

“I think a major cause of what the poor uptake is, especially in this production year, is due to the impacts of COVID-19 and the high premiums associated with some of the coverage,” said Carson Callum, general manager of Manitoba Beef Producers.

Ranchers likely feel that premiums are too high and coverage is too low to be worthwhile, he said.

Tyler Fulton, a cattle producer and director with Manitoba Beef Producers said he considers the program worthwhile but acknowledges that it’s expensive.

“The cost of the program is a very real, legitimate concern,” said Fulton. He told the Co-operator that on a per-head basis, insurance premiums are the second-highest expense he incurs in a year, second only to the costs of winter feeding.

“It’s huge, and it’s a shocker really when you pose this question to some other business owners,” said Fulton, adding that other business owners can’t fathom having insurance as their second-highest expense.

COVID-19 has upped market uncertainty for beef producers, making it a prime year to buy price insurance but after a rough 2019 many ranchers may decide they can’t afford another bill.

Under current prices, producers would be losing money on fed cattle, said Kendra Donnelly, a feedlot owner in Alberta (Alberta prices differ slightly from Manitoba). May 28 coverage prices probably would not break even, and would probably result in a few hundred dollars of loss per head, she said.

There’s also the issue of producers not having cash in hand to pay thousands of dollars up front for the premiums.

As one producer said in a Facebook post, “If the price doesn’t dump totally… all I’ve got is another $22,000 bill and most cowboys can’t handle another bill.”

MASC allows WLPIP buyers to defer payment of premiums until 30 days after the policy expires, said Van Deynze. Deferred payments are subject to interest.

Looking for relief

It’s possible that prices are higher than what the market might dictate, said Iebeling Kaastra, a researcher and consultant who was involved in designing WLPIP. Any tendency by the insurer to price higher than market based is really prevented if they have to both buy and sell the coverage levels, he added.

The model behind WLPIP is complicated and difficult to replicate so it is really hard for producers to know if prices are market based.

“The only way to truly know that is if you allow the industry to both buy and sell the coverage levels,” said Kaastra.

He suggested that the program could be made more flexible by allowing producers to both buy and sell coverage. For instance, a producer could buy coverage and, at the same time, sell a lower coverage level with the same expiration date or the producer could buy coverage and, at a later date, sell the lower coverage level if the market has dropped and volatility has increased and the producer wants to take advantage of these.

“(This) strategy is useful when volatility is high and options are expensive since the overall premium paid is reduced by the option sold,” said Kaastra. “It also allows the producer to better match their risk management needs with the WLPIP purchased.”

Manitoba Beef Producers has also called for the province to subsidize WLPIP premiums similar to how the provincial and federal governments already subsidize crop insurance.

On May 14, the Saskatchewan provincial government announced it would contribute $5 million to offset premium costs under WLPIP as part of COVID-19 relief to the livestock sector. According to a news release, Saskatchewan will provide 40 per cent of the increased premium retroactive to February 25.

During a webinar with beef producers on June 2, Callum said the Manitoba government was “looking strongly into this” but hadn’t committed to anything definite.

“There’s been an inequity between crops and livestock where crop producers have seen huge benefits from crop insurance,” said Fulton. “It would be great to see a similar kind of cost share by the government.”

Despite the expense, Donnelly and Fulton both said they’ve insured calves under WLPIP this year.

Premiums are high but coverage is break-even or better, Donnelly said. In a pandemic, that’s worth something because the fed market is losing a lot of money right now, she said.

Fulton has insured some of his calves and said he expects to buy more coverage before the purchasing window closes on June 18 because he sees the markets as so uncertain.

“I think this is exactly the best opportunity to be using price insurance, and price insurance likely at the highest coverage level,” he said, adding he expects cattle prices to be significantly lower than they have been in recent years.

Too daunting?

The learning curve may also be an obstacle to WLPIP uptake, Callum told the Co-operator. Fulton agreed.

Fulton, who has an off-farm career as director of risk management at Hams Marketing, said while he’s quite comfortable with following markets and using WLPIP, “it’s not typically what we expect to be in the wheelhouse of farmers.”

He added that many cattle producers didn’t start their career with tools like WLPIP and haven’t developed the skills it takes to have an accurate market view. They’re also busy — especially in spring when policies are up for grabs.

He suggested producers set aside time weekly — daily if possible — to review market news and get a handle on what factors influence markets.

“When you have that and when it starts to become a habit, it makes it easier for you to kind of have an opinion of whether or not the prices that are being offered are reasonable value,” he said.

Develop a plan that sets target coverage levels at which you’ll take action, said Fulton. This will require a view of the market and an idea of if markets are likely to go higher or lower so the producer can assess the relative value of the coverage and the premiums they might pay.

They should also keep their own risk tolerance in mind, Fulton added. If someone is prone to being very stressed about risk, it might be best for their mental health to utilize a risk-management tool like WLPIP.

Fulton added that it can be difficult to stay disciplined to a plan — it can be tempting to want to see markets reinforce your decisions regardless of if that’s actually good for you financially.

He suggested recording your rationale when you decide to buy coverage — what you were seeing market-wise and what was going through your mind.

He said this changes the approach from trying to beat the market to managing risk in a sustainable way.

Widen window

Fulton said that WLPIP could also be made more flexible by expanding the window in which it can be purchased. He said he might already consider purchasing in December, for instance, he already has a good idea of how many cows will calve and might be ready to buy insurance. Calf policies are usually available from February to end of May each year, though this year the time frame was extended to June 18.

He added that the hours available to purchase WLPIP are also a pain, particularly since the purchasing window falls in one of the busiest times of year. Policies are available three days per week, and on those days for only 3-1/2 hours, according to the WLPIP website.

“You end up having to organize your whole day around when you might be able to get an opportunity to review what the policies are,” he said. “It’s a bit of a pain in the butt.”

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Western Livestock Price Insurance (WLPIP) premiums have come down since Manitoba Beef Producers asked the province for help, Pedersen added.

“Premiums change every week, and that’s something that producers need to keep on,” Pedersen told the Co-operator on June 9. “But we extended the deadline… for producers to lock in some insurance price on their calf production for this fall and that would really help them take a lot of variability out of the fall market.”

WLPIP has participating producers pay a premium to receive forward price coverage in a select time frame. If in that time frame that market price falls below the coverage level, the producer is paid out.

MASC extended the program deadline to June 18 from May 28, said WLPIP coordinator Jason Dobbin. He explained that market volatility increased WLPIP calf premiums to more than five times what they were pre-COVID, making the cost prohibitive to producers.

Premiums have since come down, though not to pre-COVID levels. MASC is keeping the program open to allow producers a few more weeks to monitor prices.

Manitoba Beef Producers is concerned that for some, this may not be enough.

“While MBP understands that the WLPIP premium costs have come down somewhat, they are still a barrier for some operations to utilize the program,” Manitoba Beef Producers said in a statement emailed to the Co-operator on June 9.

“Some producers who had purchased their policies at a high premium cost would also benefit from a rebate, similar to what had been announced in Saskatchewan,” the statement continued.

The province of Saskatchewan announced it would subsidize 40 per cent of producers’ premiums through rebates.

“At a time of uncertainty such as this it is important that producers have access to affordable business risk management tools,” Manitoba Beef Producers said. “We will continue to make this ask of the provincial government to help ensure our producers are on a level playing field with those in other provinces.”

Birtle-area producer Tyler Fulton told the Co-operator that he has purchased price insurance this year.

Fulton, who is director of risk management at Hams Marketing, said he expects prices to be poor this fall for several reasons, including the current backlog of cattle due to abattoir closures in Alberta and Quebec earlier this spring.

“I think this is exactly the best opportunity to be using price insurance, and price insurance likely at the highest coverage level,” said Fulton.

Fulton said insurance premiums are the second-highest single cost he incurs on his calves.

“The cost of the program is a very real, legitimate concern,” he said.

Producers have options at their disposal if cash is an issue, said Dobbin. They’re able to choose from several levels of coverage priced accordingly. They also have the option to put WLPIP premiums on account and pay thirty days after the policy expires, he said. Deferred payments are subject to interest, which he said is two per cent about CIBC prime.

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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 crop, livestock and hail insurance, individual and group life and health insurance and disability, accident and sickness insurance.

The provincial finance ministry said Monday it will work with the insurance industry to sort out by April 10 how it will refund PST paid on insurance premiums to date.

The PST exemption for insurance premiums was one of several removed by then-finance minister Kevin Doherty in his budget last March, when the PST was hiked to six per cent. The tax on insurance premiums had originally been booked to take effect July 1 but was later delayed a month.

In the lead-up to the Saskatchewan Party’s convention last month where he was picked to replace Premier Brad Wall, Moe and three of the other four candidates had pledged to reverse the tax on insurance premiums.

“We already have evidence from crop insurance, for instance, that the number of insured acres has slightly decreased,” Moe had said before the convention, in response to a candidate survey by the Financial Advisors Association of Canada. “This is likely the case for other insurance products as well.”

Removing the tax on insurance premiums is expected to cost the province $65 million in 2017-18 revenue, and $120 million for 2018-19, the government said Monday.

Moe said Monday those costs can be accommodated in the government’s three-year plan to balance the budget by 2019-20.

PST was also placed on previously exempt sectors such as construction and renovation services, restaurant meals, snack foods and children’s clothing in last year’s budget. The sales tax remains in effect on those goods and services.

“Even today, as he flip-flops on some of those unfair tax cuts, he is standing by others that are costing jobs and raising the price of everything from kids’ clothes, and food and drinks to home insurance,” Cathy Sproule, finance critic for the opposition New Democrats, said in a separate release Monday.

Saskatchewan has booked a decrease of $2.4 million in food and beverage sales compared to this time last year, while every other province experienced growth, the NDP said. — AGCanada.com Network

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While coverage is increasing an average seven per cent, premium rates are down an average of four per cent, compared to last year.

“Through AgriInsurance, we continue to offer a comprehensive risk management program for Manitoba’s farmers, which is effective whether they are just starting out or have had years of experience,” Eichler said. “To ensure the long-term growth of our province’s agriculture sector, AgriInsurance is an essential tool, as it provides reliable protection against the unpredictable challenges of weather and other production-related risks.”

More than 8,400 Manitoba farms are enrolled in AgriInsurance, Eichler said in a news release. Manitoba has the highest level of AgriInsurance participation in Canada, covering over 90 per cent of annual crop acres.

AgriInsurance is funded by the federal and provincial government and farmers. The two governments’ share of AgriInsurance premiums for 2017-18 is expected to be $136.3 million.

Under AgriInsurance, premiums for most programs are shared 40 per cent by participating farmers, 36 per cent and 24 per cent by the federal and Manitoba governments, respectively. Administrative expenses are paid 60 per cent by Ottawa and 40 per cent by Manitoba.

The Western Livestock Price Insurance Program (WLPIP), which was expanded to include Manitoba cattle and hog producers in 2014, provides protection against unexpected price declines. Due to lower cattle prices in 2016, WLPIP paid out $1.7 million to producers, with 73 per cent of insured calves qualifying for a payment. The average payment for each calf that qualified for an indemnity was $94.

Under WLPIP, administrative expenses are paid 60 per cent by Canada and 40 per cent by Manitoba. Premiums are paid by participating producers.

AgriInsurance and WLPIP are risk management programs supported through Growing Forward 2, the five-year federal-provincial-territorial policy framework, and are administered by the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC).

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Until recently the only way to buy a Western Livestock Price Insurance Program (WLPIP) policy was to go on the Internet, activate an account through an online portal and buy a policy online, paying with a credit card.

Now that’s changing, according to the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC), who administers the provincial crop insurance program.

“Producers now have the ability to fax or scan the paperwork to our contact centre and then we activate the policy once it is paid,” said Jason Dobbin, MASC’s livestock price insurance co-ordinator.

It won’t affect any other aspects of the program, and the policies remain available through the online option. The move is intended to make life easier for producers without Internet access.

“Now, people who don’t have a computer or an email address are able to apply with a fax number,” said Dobbin.

WLPIP has also added new payment options. Previously, the organization accepted credit card payment only but producers now have the option to pay by cheque or telephone and online banking.

“There is a two-week time frame to get the policy paid to allow for producers to mail in cheques to our contact office.”

While it is acceptable to mail in payment to the MASC contact office, Dobbin clarifies that mailing in the paperwork is not an option.

“The paperwork is time sensitive, so when applying you still need to have either a fax or a scanner to transfer the paperwork back and forth in a timely manner. It needs to be completed within the 3-1/2-hour time period that we allow for buying.”

According to Dobbin, the change comes as a response to producer requests.

“This is something that we heard producers wanted. They wanted different options to purchase and to pay and so we listened. This is a pilot program and part of that pilot is trying to adjust the program to make it as convenient for producers as possible.”

For more information call 1-844-782-5747 or visit wlpip.ca.

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“With hedging, you need to have cash for the calls and so on, security money,” explained council chairman and Manitoba producer Rick Bergmann. “With the hedging program you need to have extra funding. To date that’s been a bit of a sore point or a challenge for producers.”

Last week the federal government announced it would provide the CPC with up to $169,530 to explore the feasibility of developing a hedging program that would offer price stability and address the cash flow needs of Canadian hog producers.

“Our government is proud to support the hog industry’s efforts to analyze the potential of new instruments, like a hedging program, that would help protect producers against fluctuations in market prices,” said Bev Shipley, an Ontario MP and chair of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food. “Investing in programs to reduce risk adds stability to the hog sector and will help boost competitiveness and profitability.”

Bergmann said factors like disease, currency fluctuations and international instability all affect Canadian pork producers, putting them at risk.

American pig farmers use hedging on the futures markets to a far greater extent than Canadian producers, he added, noting one goal of the study is to determine why, while also gauging interest at home.

Last year the Western Livestock Price Insurance Program — a three-year pilot project many believe will become permanent — was launched, offering cattle and pork producers the opportunity to guard against price fluctuations.

But the provincial and national pork councils have been critical of the program.

“I guess the premiums on that livestock insurance are an issue where you’ve got to pay too much to get too little,” said Bergmann. “That’s why the hedging concept has really kind of taken hold in a lot of different provinces as far as a good option, not saying that producers can’t use… the insurance, but again, it’s creating options for producers to pursue.”

The study won’t begin to yield results officially until at least September, but the chairman doesn’t expect any big surprises.

“I think what we want to do is confirm what we think we know already, but we want to do our due diligence,” he said, adding he expects to find that a lack of cash will be the barrier most producers face when it comes to using hedging as a risk management tool.

The next step will be to look at how producers can access additional funding, something Bergmann hopes the federal government will assist with.

“The federal government has been a very significant part of our industry till now,” he said. “And we anticipate that it would want to continue to be part of that in the future.”

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The allocation is hidden in the 2011-12 provincial budget brought down April 12 by Finance Minister Rosann Wowchuk.

TheCo-operatorlearned about it during briefings by Treasury Board officials in a media lockup prior to Wowchuk’s budget speech in the legislature.

Wowchuk’s speech did not announce the program other than to say that the province is “working to develop a range of livestock insurance programs to support producers.”

But Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives Minister Stan Struthers later confirmed the allocation is included in a $6.87-million funding increase to the province’s AgriInsurance program.

Struthers said the $200,000 set-aside is the province’s share of a planned pilot project to insure cattle producers against sudden drops in market prices, similar to one operating in Alberta for several years.

FEDERAL CONTRIBUTION SOUGHT

He said Manitoba would like Ottawa to contribute another $300,000, based on a traditional 60:40 federal-provincial funding split, to make the program worth $500,000 in total.

The province is also open to co-operating with Alberta and Saskatchewan in a Prairie-wide cattle insurance program, said Struthers.

“Manitoba is willing to team up with anyone to offer especially a cow-calf insurance program.”

But if neither option works out, Manitoba will go it alone, he said.

“We think we can move forward with a plan based on the $200,000. We can enhance that pilot project if the federal government would be involved, too,” said Struthers.

“If we have to start in Manitoba, if we have to use the $200,000 on its own… then we’re going to do that.”

PILOT CONTRIBUTION

Struthers could not say when the pilot might be launched. Discussions with Ottawa are currently on hold during the federal election campaign.

But he said the province intends to resume negotiations immediately after the May 2 election results are known.

The Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation will administer the program, as it does with all other farm production insurance programs.

Livestock production insurance is a priority for Manitoba’s cattle producers. Manitoba Beef Producers has lobbied tirelessly for it, demanding something to put cattle farmers on an equal footing with grain growers who have crop insurance.

MBP issued a statement following the budget expressing disappointment that the budget “failed to announce any specific insurance program for Manitoba’s struggling livestock sector.”

Struthers said he has had regular discussions with MBP about the plan and the group has offered suggestions about how it might work.

Other than the cattle insurance pilot, new agricultural initiatives were thin in Wowchuk’s second budget as finance minister and the last one before an Oct. 4 provincial election.

MANURE EXPANSION

Agriculture spending estimates tabled in the legislature include $8 million for Manitoba’s share of a federal-provincial program to help small livestock producers expand manure storages in advance of a 2013 ban on spreading manure on fields in winter. That program was announced earlier this winter.

In all, the province plans to spend $228.3 million on agriculture in 2011-12, up 6.1 per cent from the previous year.

Cliff Graydon, opposition agriculture critic, called the lack of new programs “very, very disappointing.”

“Agriculture’s not one of the top things on their priority at all,” Graydon said.

Doug Chorney, Keystone Agricultural Producers president, was a bit more positive, noting an increase in the farmland school tax rebate from 75 per cent to 80 per cent.

The province is also extending its Odor Control Tax Credit from the end of this year to Dec. 31, 2014. Established in 2004 to reduce nuisance odours from organic waste, the program was extended to farmers in 2006.

Chorney called the announced expansion of the Food Development Centre in Portage la Prairie a good move.

He noted the province plans to fund 2,100 new child-care spaces and hoped some will be earmarked for rural Manitoba. KAP has long called for more rural child care. ron@fbcpublishing.com

———

“Wecanenhancethatpilotprojectifthefederal

governmentwouldbeinvolved,too.”

– STAN STRUTHERS

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Guignion had crop insurance contracts for both hay production and days on pasture. He didn’t get paid for the first one. He did for the second.

The reason? The hay was there but Guignion had trouble putting up bales because of wet conditions. But those same conditions forced his cattle to graze for fewer days than the minimum number covered by crop insurance. That triggered a claim.

The amount was small: only $2,300. But Guignion, who farms at Pine River north of Dauphin, feels it was worthwhile because pasture insurance recognizes that bad weather affects grazing as well as hay.

That makes it a superior program, he said.

“It’s not coupled with hay and if you are short on pasture, you get paid for it.”

Guignion was one of 54 Manitoba cattle producers who registered for the Pasture Days Insurance program last year. The pilot project offered by the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC) insured more than 65,000 pasture acres and 16,000 animals for more than $1.9 million in coverage. It paid out more than $32,000 for seven claims.

The three-year pilot now enters its second year, and the signup deadline was March 31. Guignion is participating again.

“I think it’s better than the one tied to hay,” he said.

Launched in 2010, the Pasture Days program insures cattle producers for the amount of time their pastures are viable during the grazing season. The coverage period is May 1 to Nov. 30. Coverage is set at 90 per cent of a producer’s normal grazing period.

Guignion’s cattle were on pasture last year for 118 days. He was covered for 130 days, based on his number of animal units.

Producers call the program significant because it separates hay insurance from grazing insurance. Previously, producers could insure their pastures for hay yields but not grazing days. If a producer got a good first cut of hay but nothing after that, insurance didn’t treat it as a crop failure.

Now, producers who experience unexpected late-season feed losses can insure against that.

MASC stresses Pasture Days Insurance is not livestock insurance, which insures producers against lost production, mainly from disease. Such programs currently do not exist in Canada, although the Growing Forward agricultural policy framework provides for them.

The closest example going is Alberta’s Cattle Price Insurance Program, which insures the province’s cattle feeders against market price drops.

But Pasture Days Insurance is still “significantly different from other insurance programs offered by MASC; therefore, it is anticipated that it will be offered as a pilot program for at least three years,” a provincial spokesperson said.

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Producers want to insure for price, not production, said Major Jay Fox, Manitoba Beef Producers president.

MBP favours a voluntary program with a guaranteed level of protection against sudden and unexpected dips in market prices, similar to one currently operating in Alberta, Fox said.

The only difference is that the program would cover cow-calf producers, not just feedlots, which is the case in Alberta, he said.

The Nov. 16 speech from the throne to open a new session of the Manitoba legislature said farmers want “predictable, common-sense programs to help manage risk in their farm businesses.”

It noted Manitoba has the highest participation rate (over 80 per cent) in crop insurance of any province in Canada.

Then it added: “Our government will introduce further improvements to this system, including introducing new insurance products to assist sectors of the industry who have not traditionally accessed these programs.”

Producers take that to mean livestock insurance.

Fox called livestock insurance “pretty darn important” to cattle producers. But he said it was important to distinguish between price insurance and product ion insurance.

Manitoba Beef Producers is not keen on insuring cattle against lost production because that could turn into just another variant of crop insurance, said Fox.

Instead, MBP wants a program that allows producers to buy price insurance at various coverage levels over differing periods of time.

The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association also supports a national cattle price and basis insurance program as a risk management tool to shield producers from volatility in the marketplace.

Fox said MBP would like government to cost share premiums with producers until enough of them sign up to make the program self-supporting.

The Growing Forward agricultural policy framework already provides for a national livestock production insurance program to insure producers against lost production, primarily mortalities.

But it has yet to be implemented because of difficulties in developing a model with a risk level low enough to be viable.

Rob Brunel, Keystone Agricultural Producers president, said he spoke with Agriculture Minister Stan Struthers after the throne speech to find out what “new insurance products” means.

Struthers referred to insurance for cattle, hogs and bees (which are classed as livestock) but was not specific, said Brunel.

“He didn’t really go into any detail about what they were actually thinking.”

Brunel speculated livestock insurance could be a separate business risk management program under AgriStability rather than AgriInsurance.

A national BRM review is considering that approach, with price risk insurance as a possibility, he said.

“They are looking at all options at the national level and obviously at the provincial level.”

Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation this past year offered a pilot project to help producers protect livestock from feed shortages. Under the program, producers contract for cattle to graze on pasture for a certain number of days. If the number of grazing days is fewer than contracted for (because of drought, flood or other natural event), payments are triggered. However, the program is not true livestock production insurance.

The throne speech mention of new insurance products may also refer to an all-risk mortality insurance program which the hog industry is developing (see related story page 6). ron@fbcpublishing.com

———

“Prettydarnimportant.”

– MAJOR JAY FOX, MBP

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