GrainsWest Spring 2020

Spring 2020 grainswest.com 21 managed in another manner—baled, burned, plowed down or grazed—farmers should contact AFSC to arrange for a yield assessment. Crops can also be insured for wildlife damage, although it is designated as a general loss along with other liabilities, including drought, excess moisture or frost damage. For farmers who have less production than their coverage guarantee, indemnities are calculated and paid for losses resulting from the designated perils. Available to all Alberta farmers whether insured or uninsured, AFSC administers the Wildlife Damage Compensation Program (WDCP). Under this program, the federal and provincial governments pay all costs, said Sanden. While there is no premium or administration fee, farmers are charged an appraisal fee of $25 per section of land where damage has occurred. “This is a spot loss program for eligible unharvested crops, wildlife excreta contaminated crops and silage in pits or tubes,” said Sanden. “To receive compensation, at least 10 per cent wildlife damage and a minimum of $100 calculated loss per crop must be assessed.” All commercially grown cereal, oilseed, special and other crops that can be insured under the annual production and hail insurance programs are eligible for compensation. Note that damaged areas must not be harvested until an AFSC on-farm inspector is able to assess the loss. As for crop damage caused by animals, AFSC provides compensation for cleaning costs through the WDCP. Up to $0.62/bu in financial compensation is provided. A farmer needn’t have an annual crop insurance policy with AFSC to benefit from this program. In cases where contamination is found before harvest, farmers should contact AFSC to request an on-site inspection to determine where contamination exists. It is important to note that in order to qualify for compensation, farmers must not have harvested, sold, disposed of or cleaned the crop prior to initiating the claim, said Sanden. If they have done so, their request for inspection will be rejected. In 2016, AFSC recorded about 960,000 insured acres left unharvested. The following spring, the corporation assisted farmers’ harvest completion by means of the unharvested acreage benefit as well as the provision of preliminary payments and post-harvest advances. These are all paid in the fall, Sanden notes. The spring finalization is a post-harvest indemnity. “Once a client is able to harvest in the spring, or decides to put the acres to another use, they notify AFSC to assess the actual overwinter losses through an on-farm inspection and calculate the final indemnity,” said Sanden. The number of unharvested acres was not known as of press time, but it is projected to be even higher than in 2016. Clients insured with AFSC reported just over one million acres as unharvested.