Producers must maintain accurate records to receive proper compensation
Staff Writer
Farms.com
As the 2018 harvest season drags on, Agricorp continues to gather more information about Ontario’s DON challenges.
Most affected customers are in southwestern and western Ontario, a Thursday Agricorp
update said. The agency is working with farmers to ensure they understand how the insurance programs operate, enabling producers to make the right decisions for their businesses.
As of Thursday, 20 per cent of insured growers had reported their final yields. The average yield is 186 bushels per acre, the agency said.
Agricorp’s yield-based Production Insurance gives farmers a guaranteed level of production. Growers may also be eligible for a salvage benefit “to help cover the extra costs of harvesting, feeding or finding an alternative market for 2018 damaged corn,” the update said.
Production Insurance payments are made on eligible bushels up to a customer’s yield guarantee. Growers are entitled to salvage benefits, production claims, or both, depending on their situations.
Overall, Agricorp customers are reporting elevated 2018 corn yields. These higher yields could offset low-yielding fields affected by DON, meaning farmers might not be eligible for production claim payments.
Producers must maintain accurate records in the case they file a claim and to help ensure their average farm yields are “correct for future years,” the update said.
“Reporting accurate yields is necessary to ensure producers receive the right compensation in the event of a claim,” Stephanie Charest, Agricorp’s manager of customer communications, told Farms.com Tuesday. “It also ensures their Average Farm Yield (AFY) is correct for future years.
“To ensure the integrity of the Production Insurance program, we verify information used for payments.
Reporting accurately:
• “Ensures customers pay for the coverage they need and receive the right compensation in the event of a claim.
• “Reduces follow-up time.
• “Ensures a producer’s ten-year average yield is right. Their AFY will be used as a benchmark to determine their claims for the next ten years.”
Whether or not they are finished harvest, producers must also update Agricorp about 2018 yields by Dec. 15.
To understand the production claim or salvage benefit process for 2018 corn, click
here.
Updated Dec. 11, 2018.
Zoran Zeremski/iStock/Getty Images Plus photo