Sask Crop Insurance VS Alberta!

[SASKFARMER3]

Just comparing the two programs for disaster insurance between the provinces.
AGAIN thanks Lorne Calvert for Taking a National Program and Cutting back on Rural Saskatchewan AGAIN!
Coverage per bushel
Crop Alberta Sask Difference
HRS $4.08 $3.67 .41
Durum $4.25 $3.89 .36
Canola $7.94 $7.71 .23
Barley $2.79 $2.18 .61
Oats $1.93 $1.76 .17
Flax $6.22 $5.89 .33
Peas $4.35 $3.81 .54
By my calculations the difference works out to around $16.92 in coverage because of the price spread or on 8000 acres $135,428.00 in less coverage. If Lorne Calvert and his Cronies cant even get a simple program like crop insurance to jive with the rest of Canada how can he run a province and make it jive.
So to any Albertan who is looking at moving to Saskatchewan Realize that we have lots of cheap land but if you have a crop failure. O2-03-04-frost drought frost. Even a simple program like crop insurance is different between the provinces. Don't get me started on CASIP that's anouther day.

[charliep]

Will let the discussion continue but can go through the mechanics of the processes.

Saskatchewan and Manitoba do their crop insurance price forecasts/coverage determination the middle of December. Your crop insurance decision deadline is March 31. Alberta establishes their crop insurance deadlines the end of January for a crop insurance deadline of April 30. The processes and information presented at both meetings is the similar but updated for changes over the 1 1/2 months. The team who makes the recommendations is Market Analysis Branch, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Winnipeg with input by provincial market analysts and provincial crop insurance representatives.

You can expect Saskatchewan and Alberta to be a freight spread apart (extra $10/tonne or 25 cents/bu) to Vancouver. That would be the canola difference. You can also expect market analysts to be more conservative in December - the 1 1/2 month difference makes means more information is available for forecasting. Some of us may fight a little harder with the feds but that is another story.

Hopefully over time, this discussion group can provide some ideas about how this process can be done better. I also hope there are ideas to make it more visible. That is what is being tried in Alberta on the fall prices. Lots of basis risk/reasons the prices may not be the same as cash but at least a farmer understands the process (hopefully).

[charliep]

I will again note the variable price option in Saskatchewan with a July (if I am not mistaken) price adjustment. Don't know the cost side but will note July is likely to be the most price volatile month with weather key this year. Prices used in Saskatchewan crop insurance coverage levels are likely to increase. You have to do your own calculations but likely money well spent in premium.

[kamichel]

Saskfarmer have you ever considered using the caise program as your insurance? I have not used crop insurance because I feel the caise program provides better insurance. And I feel it makes less sense to have crop insurance when caise is availlable. For instance if crop insurance makes a payment it would get deducted from a caise payment if one also triggered a caise payment. Making the crop ins. payment meaningless. In good years your caise reference margin would go down because of the crop ins. premium.
My accountant suggested to me that crop ins. could also increase ones caise coverage also, I understand that as crop ins. payments will help your caise reference margin.
So pros and cons to having both.

[SASKFARMER3]

Have looked at that aspect also for cash flow when one has a huge disaster like we had in 02 and 04 the crop insurance was their quickly
Having both does get one the negative margin which helps if its a real wreck but we never hit that with no crops in 02 and 04
What ticks me off what does freight have to do with ethanol wheat to coast or barley to coast or canola to coast since I ship crusher, ethanol plant or feedlot.
Just part of a bigger scam

[kamichel]

Your right about the negative margin, yet it does take a lot to get into a negative margin. Guess I close my eyes and hope not to be there.
Hopefully in the future the price differencial from Alberta to here will be less. I feel that since we have the Possberg and Stomp barns built here that it has helped the feed prices. Used to have to ship much farther. We are still net exporters so supply and demand gives us less. 2 more crushers in Yorkton, biodiesel in Foam Lake. Ethanol in Belleplain, just to name a few will surely help.

[charliep]

Would agree that freight differential reflects the old world with the caveat a lot of Saskatchewan crop still moves out of Vancouver. Move to creating value added industry will reduce or remove this over time. Change will be even bigger in Manitoba with access to Minneapolis/US river barge system putting more competition into prices.

[wmoebis]

The freight on supplies going into Sask. is higher too. That is still paid crop loss or not. Also the fuel is always higher in Sask.

If there was cost of production factors figured in I think the numbers would be a lot different.

[charliep]

Off topic but looking at the new agricultural processing opportunities in Saskatchewan mentioned by kamichel and thinking about the opportunities for Saskatchewan. By products are of real interest - canola meal and distillers grains. Should be incentives to shift more livestock production into Saskatchwan with implications for your local feed demand.

The opportunities for farmers in the future may not be getting bigger but instead making strategic investments up the supply chain.

[SASKFARMER3]

I agree their is a big change coming and with proper planning We will not need technically to ship product out of Saskatchewan like we use to.
Cheapest distance to water is north or south Markets available to south and north to some extent. But crushing oil in Yorkton to Bio Diesel to Ethanol is all great. Livestock will fit the bill two Who knows maybe feed lot alley will now be Moose jaw or Melville.
Hay times are changing and for the better it looks.