Sask. crop insurance now includes pasture fires

The pay out will be a dollar less per acre, on average, compared to last year, but some crop insurance now includes losses sustained from pasture fires.

The changes, announced by the Saskatchewan government on Tuesday, also include increased compensationfor livestock lost to predators.

Lower crop prices mean the average pay out in 2018 for an acre will be around $216, a dollar less than 2017.The average premium for 2018 is $8.41 per acre, down 10 cents from 2017.

The announcement drew praise from the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association, which said the changes were a sign the province was recognizing the importance of cattle producers in the province.

Last year, fires tore through land in Alberta and Saskatchewan, in the areas of Burstall, Tompkins and Leader. The blazes caused about $1 million in losses, killing more than 700 livestock.

James Hargrave, a volunteer firefighter from Alta. also died in Sask. fighting the blazes when the water tanker he was driving rolled over near Burstall.

"The wildfires last fall caused tremendous damage to pastures," Shane Jahnke, president of the SSGA, said in a news release.

"At the same time, in the aftermath we identifieda gap in insurance coverage and these changes help close the gap."

Following the fires, the NDP had called for the province to dig into an agriculture spending surplus to provide supports for those who were affected in the agriculture sector.

The government declined, saying most of the losses at the time were insurable. As well, a $100K disaster relief fund had been set up for the SSGA.

The deadline for producers to apply for, renew or make changes to their crop insurance is March 31.