Purpose
Select Hay Insurance provides maximum insurance coverage for producers who experience a forage production shortfall or quality loss due to designated perils.
Eligibility
- Select Hay Insurance is available to Manitoba hay producers.
- This program provides insurance for a production shortfall or quality losses for alfalfa, alfalfa grass mixtures, tame grasses, sweet clover, and coarse hay.
- To be eligible for coverage, there must be at least five acres of the hay type grown.
- All hay types must have greater than 75 per cent ground cover to qualify for insurance.
- MASC adjustors may inspect fields to determine the type of hay and whether it qualifies for insurance.
- For coverage and claim calculations, each hay type is a separate insurable crop with no offsetting between hay types.
Insurable Crop Types and Relative Feed Values
Crop Type |
Crop Type Definition |
Relative Feed Value (RFV) |
|---|---|---|
Alfalfa |
Includes stands of 75 per cent or more alfalfa. |
RFV 105 |
Alfalfa Grass Mixture |
Includes stands of between 25 and 75 per cent alfalfa. |
RFV 95 |
Grasses |
Includes stands of 75 per cent or more tame grasses. |
RFV 85 |
Sweet Clover |
Only includes sweet clover the year after establishment. |
RFV 95 |
Coarse Hay |
Stands of native hay and other hay used for livestock feed that consists of less than 75 per cent tame hay. Does not include bulrushes and other species of low feed value. |
RFV 75 |
Cost
- There are separate premium rates for each provincial forage region and each hay type under Select Hay Insurance.
- Forage stands less than or equal to four years of age and those over four years of the same hay type will be charged the same premium per acre, but will have separate Probable Yields (expected yield per acre).
- Premiums 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.
Coverage
- Probable Yield is based on an individual’s 10-year yield history (Individualized Coverage) and is calculated separately for each crop type, and in the case of alfalfa, alfalfa grass mixtures, and tame grasses, by age of stand (less than or equal to four years old and those over four years old).
- Producers are assigned to the Forage Region in which their farm has the most forage acres.
- Coverage levels of 70 or 80 per cent of Probable Yield may be selected.
- March 31 is the last day to apply for Select Hay Insurance, make changes to coverage, or to cancel Select Hay Insurance. Select Hay Insurance renews automatically each year unless cancelled by the producer before this date.
- Producers are required to submit a Seeded Acreage Report to MASC by June 30 and a Harvested Production Report by November 30.
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 for each insured hay type.
- For claim purposes, production and quality losses will be offset between ages of stand, but not between hay types.
- If the yield for a hay type is less than the tonnage coverage for that hay type, then there is a payable claim.
- Select Hay coverage will be reduced by the amount of any previously paid Forage Restoration claim.
Claim Example
Hay Type |
Acres |
Coverage |
Harvested Yield |
Difference |
Claim |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alfalfa |
160 |
260.50 tonnes |
315.75 tonnes |
55.25 tonnes |
no |
Alfalfa Grass Mix |
100 |
193.00 tonnes |
165.50 tonnes |
-27.50 tonnes |
yes |
Select Hay Claim Amount |
= Production Shortfall (tonnes) x Dollar Value of Crop x RFV Adjustment |
||||
The alfalfa grass mixture harvested yield is less than the tonnes of coverage and there is no adjustment for quality loss. The alfalfa grass mixture dollar value is $189 per tonne. The producer would have a claim of $5197.5.
Other Program Details
- The Hay Disaster Benefit is included with Select Hay Insurance.
- Producers that have Select Hay are eligible to enroll in the Enhanced Quality Option, which provides a higher relative Feed Value guarantee.
- The Harvest Flood Option provides coarse hay coverage if a producer is unable to harvest due to excess moisture.
- The Forage Restoration Benefit provides compensation 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 last day to submit Forage Restoration, Harvest Flood Option, or Enhanced Quality Option claims (without penalty) is October 1.
- Pasture Insurance provides additional insurance coverage to cover potential losses resulting from shortfalls in summer grazing capacity. All hay types must be insured at the same coverage level to qualify.
