The province on May 29 announced the deadlines for grain and oilseed producers to submit their completed RMP applications and make any coverage changes — previously set at May 10 — has now been moved to June 30.

For livestock producers, the deadline to submit applications or request coverage changes, previously extended to April 15 for the 2023 program year, has now also been reset to June 30.

Agricorp, the province’s farm program delivery agency, said May 29 the latest deadline move is meant to “give farmers more time to evaluate their coverage decisions” and more flexibility in making those decisions.

That said, to be eligible for RMP: Grains and Oilseeds, grower customers will still also need to have Production Insurance coverage — the application deadline for which remained May 10.

Ontario’s RMP, set up as a permanent program in 2011, is intended to help farmers manage risks beyond their control, such as fluctuating costs and market prices.

The program is intended as a complement to Production Insurance, which insures against production losses, and AgriStability, a whole-farm ag income stabilization program. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Agricorp, the province’s farm program delivery agency, announced in late December the feature first introduced in 2020 will be included again in 2022, at the same coverage level provided in the 2021 program year.

Agricorp said it will automatically add the coverage to customer policies for 2022 and farmers won’t need to sign up to get it. Insured farms will be covered for the COVID-19 labour disruption peril whether they chose multi-peril or a single peril of hail, frost, or hail and frost.

Specifically, the coverage is for production losses that are due to a producer’s illness or quarantine due to COVID-19; an inability to fulfill contracted on-farm labour due to COVID-19; and/or illness or quarantine of on-farm labour due to COVID-19.

In those cases, the policy will include production loss coverage for yield-based commodities; abandonment threshold coverage for fresh vegetables, on an acreage loss basis; mortality loss coverage for fruit trees and grape vines; and colony loss coverage for bee health.

Such losses will be covered for the “full duration” of a farm’s 2022 policy, from when the crop is planted until harvest or until the end of the farm’s policy term, Agricorp said.

That means it covers on-farm labour disruption losses through the growing season for the insured commodity — such as labour required to care for a crop after planting — as well as on-farm labour disruptions at harvest.

A farmer covered for such losses will need to contact Agricorp “without delay” if yield losses or mortalities in trees, vines or bees take place due to on-farm labour disruption.

The coverage applies to all commodities except forage, Agricorp said, and does not apply to coverages not listed above — that is, coverages such as unseeded acreage, replanting, salvage or bypassed acreage. It also doesn’t cover crops intended to be harvested in 2023 — for example, winter wheat seeded this fall.

The added coverage also doesn’t extend to “post-harvest” labour disruption losses such as in an on-farm or off-farm packing house or processing facility, nor to transportation of crops.

It also won’t cover loss of market for any reason, including COVID-19 — for example, a lack of customers at a U-pick farm. Losses that “cannot be verified” or aren’t directly related to the insured farm’s operations also won’t be covered.

Also, Agricorp noted, “it is important to understand that this added peril will not increase the existing limits of your coverage, but will be assessed within them.”

The coverage also requires farmers to make a “good faith effort to secure sufficient labour” for the 2022 program year, Agricorp said, meaning the agency may ask for information about steps taken to secure labour. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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To that end, the province is making funding available to farmers who actively breed and raise wild boar to “shift to other forms of production such as heritage breeds of swine, other livestock or crop production.”

“Our government is taking action to phase out the production of Eurasian wild boar,” provincial Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford said in a release Oct. 19.

“Preventing the spread of new invasive species such as wild pigs is another critical step to safeguard the swine industry from the ASF, and protect the broader health of our communities, economy and natural environment.”

“Farm escapes of Eurasian wild boar amplify the population of wild pigs, which have already caused widespread problems in Canada’s Prairie provinces and many American states,” the province said.

Apart from damage wild pigs are known to cause in crops and other settings, other countries’ experience has also shown wild pigs on the move pose a significant risk for potentially transmitting swine fever to commercial pork operations, the province added.

The province will now fund “detection and removal efforts” and also regulate wild pigs under the provincial Invasive Species Act.

Specifically, the province will ban the “import, possession, transport, propagation, lease, trade, buying and sale of Eurasian wild boar and their hybrids” effective Jan. 1, 2022.

To help the province’s wild boar farmers toward a “faster transition,” those who own wild boar as of Oct. 19 — and who agree to stop raising wild boar within six months — will be eligible for support.

Information on a transition program intake for wild boar producers is to be made available on the Agricorp website “in the coming weeks,” the province said.

Eligible farmers will get $200 per animal to “eliminate their herd while also transitioning to other forms of production.”

The province’s announcement also included plans for a new targeted funding intake starting Nov. 5 under the federal/provincial Canadian Agricultural Partnership for Ontario pork producers, processors and other agribusinesses.

That funding will go to support “training, education and planning” along with “supply and infrastructure investments and modifications needed to strengthen swine-related operations, support industry businesses, and protect the herds and livelihoods of Ontario pork producers.”

CAP funding will also be allocated under the Partnership for an education outreach and awareness campaign for “smallholder” farms — those that market fewer than 1,000 hogs or 50 sows per year.

That campaign will focus on “increasing small hog producers’ awareness of the risks of (swine fever) and the need for strong biosecurity and emergency preparedness measures.”

Once the CAP intake information is posted, applicants will be able to submit forms on a first-come, first-served basis until Dec. 3, and can apply for reimbursement of 50 per cent of costs, up to $40,000 per applicant.

“In the wake of growing concerns since African swine fever has been detected in the Caribbean, this funding will support new measures that protect the prosperity and resiliency of the entire sector,” federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said in the province’s release. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Agricorp, the province’s farm program delivery agency, reiterated in a statement Tuesday that the RMP “will be available in 2021 (and) program details will be shared with customers as soon as they are available.”

Renewal packages are going out to farm customers “a bit later than usual this year” but that won’t affect customers’ coverage, Agricorp said.

RMP customers “do not need to do anything at this time, including reporting their sales for the RMP for livestock program.”

Launched as a pilot in 2007 and made permanent in 2011, Ontario’s RMP is meant to help farmers offset risks such as fluctuating costs and market prices.

Variations of the RMP are available for farmers in the grains and oilseeds, edible horticulture, cattle, hog, sheep and veal sectors. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Agricorp, the province’s ag program delivery agency, on Nov. 25 announced the Canada-Ontario COVID-19 2020 Hog Maintenance Feed Initiative, which started effective Nov. 6 and will run through to March 31, 2021.

Hog farmers are eligible to apply if they owned market-ready hogs that were intended for processing, but were instead held back from shipping due to a “reduction in processing capacity at an affected processor.”

Hogs must have been scheduled for processing at one of two affected processors and instead held back from shipping for a minimum of eight days.

Eligible hogs must have been shipped either to Olymel’s federally inspected plants outside the province, or to Weston Abattoir, a provincially licensed facility at Maidstone, Ont., southeast of Windsor, between April 5 and June 13, 2020.

Hogs enrolled under the program are eligible for payment at a rate of 95 cents per animal per day, minus a seven-day deductible, to a maximum $28.50 per hog.

Hogs enrolled in the program must be fed “at a premise or premises located in Ontario” and their ownership must not have changed during the enrollment period. Enrolled animals must also have been sold for processing for human consumption at the end of their enrollment period.

Any further intakes for the program will be posted on the Agricorp website. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Agricorp, the provincial farm program delivery agency, announced the extension Thursday.

The extension gives farmers the “time and flexibility to make business decisions and to assess their program coverage needs, especially in the current challenging times,” Agricorp said in a release.

The change won’t affect farmers’ coverage options, the agency said, and program delays “will not cause gaps in coverage.”

That said, farmers are advised not to wait until the last day to file, so as to allow time for Agricorp to process applications and “do any necessary follow-up.”

Several other program deadlines have been extended for Ontario growers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including enrolment deadlines for RMP coverage, enrolment and payment deadlines for AgriStability and payment deadlines for fruit and forage production insurance. — Glacer FarmMedia Network

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The extended premium payment deadline applies only to production insurance plans for fruit, strawberries and asparagus — and to the forage rainfall insurance plan, which uses rainfall as an indicator of forage yield and/or quality.

Coverage options for 2020 won’t be affected, and program extensions won’t cause gaps in coverage, “ensuring farmers continue to have coverage in place,” the provincial ag program delivery agency, Agricorp, said in a release.

Other production insurance premium deadlines “are staying the same at this time” and other production insurance program plan deadlines, such as enrolment and renewal, “also remain unchanged,” Agricorp said.

The deadline extension announced Monday “gives farmers the flexibility to pay later if they need to” as they deal with “challenges and uncertainties brought on by the COVID‑19 outbreak.”

Agricorp on Monday advised farmers paying premiums to do so through their financial institutions, online or by phone, as it “takes only a few minutes and is easier than paying by cheque, especially with the challenges of the current outbreak.”

If they wish, farmers “can still mail a cheque, but they should allow extra time for processing.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Agricorp, the province’s ag program delivery agency, announced Wednesday the new deadline for applications or coverage changes for 2020 will be June 30.

The previous deadlines to apply or file for changes were May 1 for grain and oilseed producers and April 1 for cattle, hogs, sheep and veal producers.

Though the deadline has changed, producers should apply or change coverage “as soon as they’re ready to get their coverage in place,” Agricorp said in a release Thursday.

Coverage options for 2020 will not be affected by the extended deadline, and program delays “will not cause gaps in coverage,” the agency said.

“Extending the RMP deadlines gives farmers more time to make business decisions and to assess their program coverage needs, especially while dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic,” Agricorp said Thursday.

RMP renewal packages went out to livestock producers in February, and are “currently in the mail” for grain and oilseed producers, Agricorp said, but noted both are also available online through its website.

Packages for the “self-directed” RMP plan for edible horticulture producers go out in the fall. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Agricorp, the province’s production insurance and farm program delivery agency, announced extensions Friday for several of its planting deadlines.

Corn growers in areas A, B, C and D on the map above get an extra two days to plant, as the deadline for corn in area D moves to Wednesday, June 12, from Monday, June 10. For corn in areas A, B and C, the deadline moves to June 17 from June 15.

Soybean growers in those four areas get an extra five days, as the deadline in area D moves to June 25 from June 20, and the deadline in areas A, B and C moves to July 5 from June 30.

Growers of coloured and white beans also get five more days, as the deadline in areas D and E moves to June 25 from June 20 and the deadline in areas A, B and C moves to July 5 from June 30.

The agency’s full list of deadlines, extended or otherwise, is available online.

Decisions to grant extensions are made based on risk assessments and “consulting with industry” as well as approval from both the provincial ag ministry and federal agriculture department.

Growers calling to report planted acres will have a smaller window of time to do so, Agricorp said. Thus, the agency expects an “influx” of high call volumes during the rest of June as “many producers may call to report at the same time.”

Agricorp said its customers could also receive short automated email and phone messages on such matters from the agency in the next few weeks, and added that “each message is different, so customers are encouraged to listen to and/or read each message.”

Growers still unable to plant their intended crop or an alternative crop by deadline, if wet weather continues, may be eligible for Agricorp’s unseeded acreage benefit, if they insured all grain and oilseed acres.

Unseeded acreage claims are processed after an eligible grower reports his or her final acres and premiums are paid. The benefit is subject to a premium of $1 per unseeded acre; growers would pay that premium and receive their unseeded acreage benefit payments at the same time. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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Agricorp, the province’s farm program delivery agency, on Thursday released full 2019 program details for the RMPs for grains/oilseeds, cattle, hogs, veal and sheep, including premium rates and updated program timelines.

As the province announced last month, the RMP this year will include a 95 per cent coverage level, billed as a “cost-effective alternative to the existing 100 per cent coverage level.”

But because of the new option, “coverage is not automatically renewed this year,” Agricorp warned Thursday — meaning, unlike in previous RMP years, a farmer who leaves his or her coverage decisions unchanged won’t see those changes rolled over to the current program year.

“Customers will need to evaluate their options and contact Agricorp to select a coverage level that is best for their farms.”

Grains/Oilseeds RMP customers will be able to select their coverage level when they report their planted acres for production insurance, “all in one phone call,” Agricorp added.

Renewal packages are to be mailed out this month, Agricorp said Thursday.

“Participation timelines have been adjusted to provide additional time for customers to make the best decisions for their farm businesses.” — Glacier FarmMedia Network

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