Forage Insurance Programs
Select Hay Insurance
Select Hay Insurance provides insurance protection for producers who experience a production shortfall or quality loss due to designated perils.
Select Hay Insurance offers production and quality guarantees on five different hay types (alfalfa, alfalfa-grass mixtures, tame grasses, sweet clover, and coarse hay). Each type of hay is insured separately for coverage and claim calculations (i.e. no offset between hay types) and producers can select coverage of 70 or 80 per cent of probable yield for each hay type.
Basic Hay Insurance
Basic Hay Insurance is a lower cost whole-farm forage insurance option to insure winter feed supplies against losses due to designated perils.
Basic Hay Insurance lets a forage producer select a combined High or Low Dollar production guarantee (with no quality guarantee) on all hay types. All hay types (alfalfa, alfalfa-grass mixtures, tame grasses, sweet clover and coarse hay) are combined to form an aggregate production yield for claims.
Apply for Insurance
If you do not currently have Forage Insurance, the deadline to apply for an AgriInsurance policy or to add forage crop coverage to your existing policy is March 31 of the crop year. If you currently have Forage Insurance, your policy will automatically renew each year (until you provide notice to cancel).
If you’re just getting started, your first step is to apply for an AgriInsurance policy with forage crop selections. Applications must be made in-person at an MASC Service Centre by March 31 of the growing year.
Once finalized, you’ll receive a confirmation letter from MASC that your Forage Insurance is active and will automatically renew each year (until you provide notice to cancel).
Use the Forage Insurance Calculator to estimate your premiums for the coverage you select for your fields.
Forage Insurance Options
Producers enrolled in Select Hay Insurance or Basic Hay Insurance can further manage their risk through the following coverage options:
Enhanced Quality Option (Alfalfa)
The Enhanced Quality Option for alfalfa provides a higher quality guarantee for alfalfa acres insured under Select Hay Insurance.
Harvest Flood Option
The Harvest Flood Option provides insurance for the inability to harvest coarse hay acres due to excess moisture.
Forage Insurance Benefits
Producers enrolled in Select Hay Insurance or Basic Hay Insurance are automatically covered by additional benefits at no extra premium cost:
Hay Disaster Benefit
The Hay Disaster Benefit compensates producers for the increased costs of purchasing and transporting replacement hay when there is a severe provincial forage shortfall.
Forage Restoration
Forage Restoration compensates producers who lose their established hay or forage seed crops due to excessive moisture before October 1.
Related Programs
MASC also delivers other programs that are of interest to livestock producers and forage growers:
Forage Advantage
The Forage Advantage incentive provides a premium discount for eligible Forage Establishment crops grown on acres designated as soil types H, I, and J. This incentive also provides a premium discount on Select Hay, Basic Hay, and Forage Seed Insurance coverage for these acres in the year following establishment.
Forage Establishment
Forage Establishment Insurance covers losses on eligible forage crops during the period from seeding to establishment.
Polycrop Establishment
Polycrop Establishment Insurance provides financial assistance to Manitoba farmers if an eligible polycrop fails to establish.
Pasture Days Insurance
Pasture Days Insurance provides insurance coverage for livestock producers for losses due to weather-related grazing shortfalls during the summer pasture period.
Pasture Insurance
Pasture Insurance provides additional insurance coverage for forage producers to cover potential losses resulting from shortfalls in summer grazing capacity.
Forage Seed Insurance
Forage Seed Insurance provides financial assistance to forage seed producers when they experience a significant production shortfall.
Greenfeed Insurance
Greenfeed Insurance provides coverage for losses due to natural perils on silage and non-silage greenfeed grown in Manitoba.
Costs
For most AgriInsurance programs, premiums are paid 40 per cent by insured producers, 36 per cent by the Government of Canada, and 24 per cent by the Manitoba Government. Administrative expenses for the AgriInsurance Program are shared 36 per cent by Canada and 24 per cent by Manitoba.
Making a Claim
If you believe your crop(s) have been fully or partially damaged by an insurable peril, contact your MASC specialist.
Forage Insurance Reporting
If you have an active AgriInsurance policy, you will receive a Confirmation of Insurance package (either by mail or email) early in the crop year. If you don’t want to make any changes, the previous year’s selections will remain in effect.
Contract Changes, Cancellations, and Additions
March 31 is the first important reporting deadline for AgriInsurance in a typical growing year. On or before March 31, you must:
- Make any changes or cancellations to your policy;
- File claims on the previous year’s crop (subject to late fees);
- Add new land to your policy to be eligible for Excess Moisture Insurance; and
- Make changes to your AgriInsurance program selections.
Please confirm any changes in-person, by fax, or by phone with your nearest MASC Service Centre. Policy cancellations must be completed in writing. Alternate signing authorities can make changes, but cannot cancel a policy.
Seeding Deadlines and Reporting
Crops must be seeded by the dates specified in MASC’s list of seeding deadlines. If you require more time, most crops have an ‘extended seeding period’, though MASC will apply a 20 per cent coverage reduction for crops seeded in this period.
In May, you will receive a Seeded Acreage Report package (by mail or email). Submit your completed Seeded Acreage Report on or before June 30 online in myMASC. You can also submit your report by mail, or in-person at your local MASC Service Centre.
Post-Harvest Reporting
In fall, a Harvested Production Report package will be mailed or emailed to you. You must complete and submit your Harvested Production Report to MASC by November 30 online in myMASC or by mail, or in-person at your local MASC Service Centre.
Beginning the Process
Contact your local MASC Service Centre to set up an appointment to meet with one of our dedicated specialists, to begin the next steps of the process.
