Purpose
Basic Hay Insurance provides a lower cost whole-farm forage insurance option to insure winter feed supplies against losses due to designated perils.
Eligibility
- Basic Hay Insurance is available to Manitoba hay producers.
- To be eligible for coverage, there must be an aggregate acreage of at least five acres of any hay type grown.
- This program provides production insurance for alfalfa, alfalfa grass mixtures, tame grasses, sweet clover, and coarse hay. Each hay type is combined for coverage and claim calculations.
- All hay types require greater than 75 per cent ground cover to qualify for insurance.
- Coarse hay includes stands of native hay and other hay used for livestock feed consisting of less than 75 per cent tame hay, excluding bulrushes and other species deemed to have low feed value.
Coverage
- Each eligible hay type has its own Probable Yield (expected yield per acre), however all hay types are combined into an aggregate Probable Yield for coverage and claim purposes.
- Basic Hay Insurance offers a coverage level of 80 per cent of the Probable Yield, which provides an effective trigger for claims when there is a production shortfall.
- There is no Relative Feed Value quality guarantee for Basic Hay Insurance.
- High Dollar Value ($114 per tonne) and Low Dollar Value ($68 per tonne) options are available.
- If Basic Hay Insurance is selected, all hay types and all insurable fields must be insured under Basic Hay Insurance.
- March 31 is the last day to apply for, make changes to, or cancel Basic Hay Insurance. Once selected, Basic Hay Insurance renews automatically each year unless cancelled by the producer.
- Seeded Acreage Reports must be submitted to MASC by June 30, and yields must be reported on a Harvested Production Report by November 30.
Cost
- A producer’s aggregated probable yield and premium costs cannot be calculated until the actual acreage of each hay type is determined. Final coverage and premium costs will be provided to the producer after their Seeded Acreage Report is accepted by MASC.
- The premium cost is shared 40 per cent by the producer, 36 per cent by the Government of Canada, and 24 per cent by the Province of Manitoba.
Claims
Select Hay Insurance and Basic Hay Insurance are the two main components of Forage Insurance. Select Hay Insurance provides maximum insurance coverage, while Basic Hay Insurance offers lower cost whole-farm forage coverage.
Claim Deadline: Claims for Select Hay and Basic Hay Insurance will be accepted until November 30, but claims filed after October 1 are subject to late fee penalties.
Claim Process: File your Harvested Production Report with forage information and notify MASC that you are in a claim position by October 1. Harvested Production Reports should be filed immediately after all forage production has been baled or silage, and you are required to provide 10 days’ notice prior to feeding or selling any production, or the claim may be denied.
Once your claim is filed, an MASC adjustor may visit to verify by inspecting acres and forage production, obtaining representative samples, counting bales, and other verification methods. After your claim is accepted, it will be processed and payment will be made via your preferred payment method. If you do not want to receive a payment before a specific date (deferred payment) for tax purposes, you should inform the adjustor when completing the claim.
- Losses are determined over the entire acreage of all hay types under Basic Hay Insurance.
- A claim is payable when a producer’s total harvested yield is less than the aggregate coverage.
- Basic Hay Insurance coverage will be reduced by the amount of any previously paid Forage Restoration claim.
- Bales that cannot be removed from the field due to wet field conditions are eligible for production losses, as well as Wildlife Damage Compensation, and therefore not eligible for any other disaster assistance programs.
Claim Example
A producer selects Basic Hay Insurance and grows three types of hay. When harvested, two of the three hay types fall short of their coverage tonnage.
Hay Type |
Acres |
Coverages (tonnes) |
Harvested Yield (tonnes) |
Difference (tonnes) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Alfalfa Seed |
160 |
284.8 |
180 |
-104.8 |
Alfalfa Grass Mix |
40 |
71.2 |
68 |
-3.2 |
Coarse Hay |
80 |
142.4 |
190 |
47.6 |
Totals |
280 |
498.4 |
438 |
-60.4 |
Aggregate coverage is 1.78 tonnes per acre (498.4 tonnes of coverage on 280 acres).
Basic Hay Claim Amount
= Total Production Shortfall (tonnes) x High Dollar Value
= 60.4 tonnes (shortfall) x $114 per tonne (High Dollar Value)
= $6885.6
In this example, the producer’s total harvested yield is less than the total aggregate coverage. The selected High Dollar Value is $114 per tonne. The producer would be entitled to a claim payment of $6885.6.
Other Program Details
The Hay Disaster Benefit is included with Basic Hay Insurance.
The Forage Restoration Benefit provides a benefit to restore an insured hay crop that was damaged by excess moisture before October 1. The Forage Restoration Benefit does not apply to coarse hay or sweet clover.
The Harvest Flood Option provides coverage for coarse hay if a producer is unable to harvest due to excess moisture.
Claims for the Forage Restoration Benefit and the Harvest Flood Option must be registered by October 1 (without penalty).
Pasture Insurance option provides additional coverage for potential losses resulting from shortfalls in summer grazing capacity.
