Members of Keystone Agricultural Producers – many of whom are still reeling from the effects of last summer’s flood – are concerned over the inability of Excess Moisture Insurance to adequately cover their losses. EMI is offered through the federal-provincial AgriInsurance program.
KAP members attending their fall general council meeting yesterday expressed frustration over a five-per-cent deductible on EMI that is cumulative on claims made by those experiencing successive years of flooding.
They indicated this dramatically reduces their coverage and the effectiveness of the program, explaining the deductible can be as much as 30 per cent for a farmer who has experienced multiple years of flooding.
“The deductible, combined with reduced funding for other farm risk management programs, means farmers are not receiving the same recovery assistance this year as they did after the 2011 flood – and some may not make it,” said KAP vice-president Dan Mazier.
He said KAP is still waiting to hear about its request to provincial and federal governments for implementation of a program under the AgriRecovery framework. AgriRecovery is designed to address unpredictable situations such as flooding, and several programs were implemented in 2011 to assist farmers who lost their incomes.
KAP members also passed a resolution yesterday that will see the organization lobby both levels of government to require oil and gas workers, and their companies, to be trained in biosecurity practices when they enter farmland.
This follows the arrival in the province of clubroot, a devastating canola disease. Without proper biosecurity protocols the disease, as well as insects and weeds, can be easily spread from field to field.
The resolution is a result of frustration with the right of entry granted by legislation to oil and gas companies, allowing them to enter farmland without permission. Farmers are not able to refuse entry, even if they are concerned about biosecurity.
Anastasia Kubinec, a provincial expert on biosecurity and clubroot, told KAP members there are already 13 identified cases of clubroot in the Province. She said everyone entering farmland must practice biosecurity measures to prevent its spread.
