·Wildfires have the potential to damage standing and stored forage supplies, cause livestock mortality, increase production costs and decrease revenues for affected farmers and ranchers.
·Staff with Emergency Management BC, the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, and the Ministry of Forests and Range are working together with regional districts to assist with any necessary livestock movements, and to address the concerns of impacted farmers and ranchers.
About Compensation Programs
·Where B.C.’s farms and ranches are threatened within evacuation order and alert areas, Emergency Management BC can assist with livestock movements.
·Production Insurance, AgriStability and AgriInvest are the available provincial agriculture risk-management programs to compensate farmers and ranchers for losses.
·Affected farmers and ranchers must already be enrolled for Production Insurance and AgriStability for 2010 in order to be eligible for compensation or assistance.
·Private insurance providers also insure livestock as well as buildings and their contents, such as stored feed, against fire perils.
Production Insurance
·Production Insurance is available for crop losses caused by fire and other naturally occurring perils, such as hail, spring frost, excessive rain, flood, and drought.
·Producers with Production Insurance are covered for crop losses caused by fire. This applies to standing crops up to the point of harvest. Production Insurance does not provide coverage for livestock mortality or stored crops.
·Individual Production Insurance coverage varies depending on the choice of coverage purchased.
·For more information about Production Insurance coverage, please contact the local Production Insurance office, call toll-free at 1 888 332-3352, or visit: http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/production_insurance.
AgriStability
·AgriStability protects a farmer from farm income declines, including when there is a production loss. A payment is made if the current-year income falls more than 15 per cent below the average of prior years.
·AgriStability will cover a portion of the additional income decline where fire increases allowable expenses such as feed costs, or decreases revenue from sales such as livestock, hay or other crops.
·For more information, call AgriStability toll-free at 1 877 343-2767, or visit: http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/agristability
AgriInvest
·AgriInvest helps producers manage small income declines of less than 15 per cent.
·Producers with AgriInvest accounts can withdraw available funds at their discretion.
·For more information, call AgriInvest toll-free at 1-866-367-8506, or visit: http://www4.agr.gc.ca/AAFC-AAC/display-afficher.do?id=1200410437197&lang=eng
Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Lands