Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation (SCIC) will be rolling out measures to assist ag producers as they battle the effects of drought conditions on the prairies.
Ag Minister David Marit in making today’s announcement said effective immediately changes will be made to allow low yielding crops to be put to other use to support the livestock sector. The government will also make changes to temporarily increase the maximum funding a livestock producer can receive from the Farm and Ranch Water Infrastructure Program (FRWIP) for dugouts, wells and pipelines.
Marit noted the tremendous challenges that livestock producers are facing to access feed and quality water sources.
SCIC will be doubling the Low Yield Appraisal threshold values for customers who salvage their cereal or pulse crops as feed, without negatively impacting future individual coverage. As an example, the previous threshold for barley was seven bushels per acre. If a Crop Insurance customer used this crop for feed, the threshold will now be 14 bushels per acre and a zero bushel yield would be used for the claim. The original 14 bushels would be used to update future coverage.
For the period April 1, 2021 to March 31, next year, the maximum rebate for livestock producers will increase to $150,000. The first $50,000 will be based on a 50-50 cost-share and the remaining $100,000 will be on a 70-30 government-producer cost-share.
The Saskatchewan government is also asking that the Federal government designate the entire province as eligible through the Livestock Tax Deferral program, for all producers who may need to liquidate part of their breeding herd as a result of feed or water woes.
The Province says that applying for the AgriStability Program is another way for producers to access a portion of their benefit early. Through the interim benefit, producers enrolled in AgriStability can get half of their estimated final benefit.
The Farm Stress Line is available for counselling support. Producers can access this confidential service at anytime by calling toll-free at  1-800-667-4442.
Producers can get in touch with their local SCIC office, toll-free at 1-888-935-0000 or check their options online at the SCIC website.
