Update on Manitoba AgriInsurance

Jan 20, 2017

The Government expects risk coverage will be second-highest value on record

Manitoba farmers are well covered in risk management – especially this coming year. AgriInsurance coverage will reach near-record high value for the upcoming year, said Lawrence MacAulay, federal agriculture minister, and Ralph Eichler, Manitoba agriculture minister, in an announcement at the Manitoba Ag Days show, Jan. 17.

“Governments continue to work together to ensure producers have access to an effective suite of business risk management programs that offer protection against a broad range of farm business risks,” MacAulay said in his announcement. “Taking proactive steps to protect the farm against the financial impact of extreme weather and price fluctuations is a key strategy for success.”

MacAulay and Eichler expect that AgriInsurance will provide some $2.6 billion in coverage accounting for 9.6 million acres, in Manitoba. This coverage value is the second highest on record, according to a Manitoba Government release.

Compared to last year, AgriInsurance premiums dropped four per cent, while the coverage value increase by seven per cent.

The increase in coverage is based on two factors according to David Van Deynze, vice-president of insurance for the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC).

“The amount of coverage boils down to two factors – long term average (crop) yields, as well as expected market values,” he says. “Yields are (historically) trending upwards, and (commodity) market values are expected to be fairly strong.”

Based on below average number of insurance claims filed, these strong yields were seen by many of the Manitoban farmers in 2016, according to Van Deynze. He speculates over 90 per cent of fields are covered by AgriInsurance.

“On average, it was a pretty good year – (most) of our producers had good yields.”

Despite an above average season however, Van Deynze still stresses the value in insurance.

“The stakes in agriculture these days are so high. Input costs are high, land and machinery cost are high, so it puts producers in a tough spot if they happen to have a crop failure or a below average crop,” he says. “What (AgriInsurance) is really about, is keeping farmers away a single bad year – or two bad years in a row – away from losing their farm.”

In addition to AgriInsurance, the ministers MacAulay and Eichler also reminded farmers of the Western Livestock Price Insurance Program. They noted the program paid cattle producers $1.7 million in total, due to low cattle prices

For more information on both programs, visit the MASC website.

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