Agricorp adjusts fruit insurance programs

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

by MATT MCINTOSH

New changes to production insurance for tree-fruit growers should better insulate producers from the financial strain of crop failure, says a December 16 Agricorp press release.

The changes come in response to last year’s growing season, where early blossoms were devastated by late-spring frost.

 “The organization paid $31.4 million in insurance claims to fruit tree growers in the 2012 season,” says Stephanie Charest, Agricorp’s customer communications manager, in an email. “Agricorp continually reviews programs to identify opportunities and make sure (the programs) meet the needs of farmers.”

According to the press release, apple and grape growers can now qualify for coverage of their trees and vines in the first year of production. This differs from past years where growers “needed to insure their apple and grape production (separately) for one full year” before being eligible for tree and vine coverage.”

How Agricorp determines claim prices has also changed. In an effort to make claim prices more reflective of market prices, says the press release, they will be calculated using a three-year average instead of a five-year average. The claim price for sour cherries, however, will be set to the market price during the harvest period.

In addition, yields that are “more than 30 per cent above or below a customer’s average opening yield will be buffered to stabilize and lessen their impact on final average yield calculations,” the release said.

Charest says that tree-fruit growers whose yields were affected by 2012’s unusual weather also received support through other programs, such as Agri-Stability and the Canada-Ontario and Tender Fruit Weather Risk Mitigation Strategy. Those programs are not affected by the recent changes.

The enrollment period for the new production is closed as of December 20, but producers can enroll for coverage changes in the following year. BF