Agricorp now offers excessive rainfall coverage

By Gary Sliworsky
OMAFRA Rep.

Excess rainfall coverage is now offered in the Agricorp Forage Rainfall plan. Agricorp created another option under their Forage Rainfall plan to help manage your risk during harvest. Now there are two ways the Forage Rainfall plan can protect your established forage. Get coverage for:
1. Excess rainfall during first cut (new for 2011)
2. Insufficient rainfall during May, June, July and August (existing plan).
You can apply for one or both options. Total claims for both options cannot exceed the chosen insured value of the forage grown.
Forage quality means different things to different people depending on end use and management practices. For this plan, rainfall is used as an indicator of quality. If you get rainfall when you are hoping to harvest you may have lower quality hay. Or, if you wait to harvest you will lose nutritional quality due to over-maturity. If this happens, your claim payment will help offset additional costs or losses due to rainfall.
Excess rainfall coverage is limited to your first cut harvest period. Pasture is not insurable under this option. The excess rainfall plan will be offered in 2011 as a pilot only to the first 500 customers.
You must apply for excess rainfall coverage by May 1. On the application, you will be asked to choose the following:
1. Rainfall collection site
Rainfall is collected in 0.2 mm increments by a third party at a rainfall collection site close to where you produce your forage. Your selected station will be used to gather data for both the insufficient and excess rainfall options if you’re enrolled in both.
Excess rainfall coverage is limited to your
2. Rainfall threshold
You can select a rainfall threshold of 5 mm or 7 mm. If you do not have any consecutive five-day windows in your intended harvest period with less rainfall than your chosen threshold, a claim will be paid.
3. Harvest period
Choose one of the following harvest period options based on when you typically harvest your first cut hay or haylage. The 10-day harvest period options are:
May 22 – 31
June 1 – 10
June 11 – 20
June 21 – 30
July 1 – 10
4. Chosen coverage amount
Agricorp representatives will work with you to determine your forage value. Hay/haylage can be valued between $100 and $300 per acre. You can choose to insure from a minimum of $2,000 up to the total value of your hay/haylage. Your chosen coverage amount for your hay/haylage must be the same for both insufficient rainfall and excess rainfall options if you’re enrolled in both.
Your premium rates depend on your rainfall threshold choice. Premiums are cost shared with federal and provincial governments. Your individual premium is calculated by multiplying the premium rate by your chosen coverage amount.
If you do not have any consecutive five-day windows in your intended harvest period with less rainfall than your chosen threshold, a claim will be paid. Claims will be automatically calculated and mailed to you at the end of the summer.
Claim = 35% X chosen coverage amount
The claim rate of 35 percent was set since first cut is typically 70 percent of the total value of forage and, on average, half can be salvaged if rainfall occurs during harvest.
For more information call 1-888-247-4999.

Dates to Remember
April 30 – RRFA Spring Dinner Meeting, 6:30 pm, Stratton. Guest speaker is Daniel Bezte, author of The Weather Vane column in the Manitoba Cooperator.