Production Insurance for Organic Crops

Agricorp has developed Production Insurance options that improve coverage to reflect the premium prices that organic farmers receive for their product. There will be an insurance plan in place for organic wheat and spelt producers in 2009. This is the second year of this plan. Agricorp also offers a separate Production Insurance plan for organic soybeans.

Production Insurance (PI) is a risk management tool that guarantees a level of production and protects Ontario farmers from yield reductions due to adverse weather, insects, and disease.

Eligibility

To participate in the organic insurance plan, the land on which the crop is grown must be certified by an accredited certification body in the current crop year. A copy of the certificate must be provided to Agricorp. All wheat acres or all spelt acres must be insured.

Enrolment

To apply for insurance for the organic wheat and spelt crops, contact Agricorp by November 1, 2008 at 1-888-247-4999, Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information visit the website at www.agricorp.com or call Agricorp at 1-888-247-4999.

Planting Deadlines

The planting deadlines for these crops varies with region.

For areas with > 2700 crop heat units (CHU) - Oct 31
For areas with < 2700 CHU - Oct 20
East of Belleville and >2700 CHU - Oct 10
East of Belleville and < 2700 CHU - Oct 1

Note that wheat following a wheat crop is not insurable. Wheat following a corn crop is only insurable if good farm management practices are followed, check with Agricorp for details.

2009 Premium Rates for Organic Plans

Premiums are cost shared with the federal and provincial governments. For most insurance plans producers pay only 40 percent of the required premium. The charts below outline the customer's share of the premium:

September 2008 Index