Purpose
Forage Establishment Insurance provides financial assistance to Manitoba farmers if an eligible forage crop fails to establish.
Eligibility
Forage Establishment Insurance must have the seed incorporated by mechanical means. If a Forage Establishment Insurance crop is planted more than three days after a cover crop, MASC may inspect to verify the cover crop is not excessively damaged.
- Eligible forage crops include spring or fall plantings in any combination of alfalfa, birdsfoot trefoil, clover, sainfoin, perennial ryegrass, and other perennial grasses (excluding native grasses).
- All acres of new plantings of eligible forage establishment crops must be insured if Forage Establishment Insurance is selected for coverage.
- Spring plantings must be seeded by June 25.
- Spring seeded perennial ryegrass must be seeded with a companion crop to be eligible for Forage Establishment Insurance.
- Fall plantings of perennial grasses (excluding perennial ryegrass seed), alfalfa, birdsfoot trefoil, sainfoin, and clover must be seeded on or after July 25 but not later than August 15.
- Fall plantings of perennial ryegrass seed must be seeded on or after August 10 but not later than September 5.
- Fall seeded perennial ryegrass, alfalfa, birdsfoot trefoil, sainfoin, and clover must be planted without a companion crop to be eligible for Forage Establishment Insurance.
- Native grasses and annual ryegrass are not eligible for Forage Establishment Insurance.
Coverage
- The coverage level selections available in 2026 are $65 or $130 per acre.
- The last day to apply for, make changes to (add or delete crops and change coverage levels), or to cancel AgriInsurance is March 31. Once selected, Forage Establishment Insurance is ongoing and renews automatically each year until the producer cancels the option.
- A Seeded Acreage Report must be submitted to MASC by June 30, and a Harvested Production Report must be submitted by November 30.
Cost
- Premium costs are shared 40 per cent by the producer, 36 per cent by the Government of Canada, and 24 per cent by the Province of Manitoba.
- With the Forage Advantage incentive, producers can reduce their FEI premium costs for growing eligible forage crops on land classified by MASC as having soil types H, I, and J.
Claims
Forage Establishment Insurance provides financial assistance to Manitoba farmers if an eligible forage crop fails to establish. Due to the program’s mid-season deadlines, filing a claim for Forage Establishment Insurance uses the following outline:
Claim Deadline: Claims registered after June 25 to June 30 are subject to late fee penalties, and no claims after June 30 will be accepted.
Claim Process: You must notify MASC that you are in a claim position by June 25 of the year following planting.
Once you have registered a claim, an MASC adjustor will visit to inspect the state of your establishment acres. In all cases, the crop must be inspected before being destroyed or overseeded. 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.
Indemnities are dependent on whether the acres were reseeded, overseeded, or destroyed.
No Forage Establishment Insurance indemnity is paid on stands where ground cover of 75 per cent or more of tame species has been attained.
