Ag. Minister announces 2018 crop insurance program
Average crop insurance coverage is decreasing slightly in 2018, but there are significant enhancements coming to help protect Saskatchewan producers.
Crop insurance levels in 2018 will average $216/acre, down from $217/acre in 2017. Although coverage is decreasing slightly, premiums are also dropping to an average of $8.41/acre, down from $8.51/acre last year.
Aside from the slight changes in insurance levels and premiums, Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart said there are significant chances coming to the 2018 Crop Insurance Program designed to protect producers from fires, flooding, cattle predation and more. Farmers will have increased options to customize their coverage, he said, as no two farms are identical and each have specific insurance needs.
Stewart said fire insurance will be offered on pasture land in 2018, after wildfires burned through more than 88 thousand acres of Saskatchewan land last year. Better protections are also coming for cattle producers, who will see increased coverage for calves lost to predators, bringing Saskatchewan into line with other western provinces. Beekeepers will also see new coverage introduced, Stewart said, as over-winter losses will now by covered and deductibles will be based on a long-term industry average.