The Governments of Canada and Saskatchewan handed out a record level of payments through the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation’s (SCIC) Forage Rainfall Insurance Program.
Over 90 per cent of the insured acres received a payment through the program. A total of $60.4 million in indemnities was paid across SCIC’s 17 forage risk zones.
Payments were issued to producers on Aug. 18.
The insurance program protects pasture and hay land when there is below-average rainfall at the producer’s selected weather station.
“So, the Forage Rainfall Program really responds to dry conditions. When the conditions are dry like in the summer of 2023, there’s less than 80 per cent of normal precipitation at your selected weather station, we trigger payments,” said SCIC acting vice president of operations Lorelei Hulston.
The Forage Rainfall Insurance Program is available for native and tame acres for hay and grazing for livestock producers. Since 2022, Hulston said the program includes heat adjustment.
“Any days where the temperature is at or above 30 degrees Celsius, we deduct one millimetre from that month’s precipitation and so in 2023 that added an extra $5.8 million in indemnities to the program,” she explained.
Payments were most heavily concentrated in the southwest and west central regions of the province. Payments are calculated based on the precipitation data gather at the producer’s selected weather station.
You can find out more about the Forage Rainfall Insurance Program on the SCIC website.