Alberta farmers facing drought and poor crop conditions will get extra flexibility in 2025 amid a temporary doubling of the low yield allowance for cereal and pulse crops.
The adjustment is aimed at helping producers, particularly in drought-hit areas such as the Peace region, salvage low-quality crops for livestock feed rather than risk harvesting nothing, said a Friday announcement from the Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC).
“This adjustment enables producers to act swiftly to salvage crops for livestock feed rather than watch their fields deteriorate further, and risk harvesting nothing,” said Jesse Cole, Insurance Products and Product Innovation manager with AFSC.
For the 2025 crop year only, the low yield allowance thresholds have been increased to 300 kg per acre for barley, wheat, oats, rye, field peas, corn, triticale, and faba beans. Dry beans move to 240 kg per acre, lentils and Desi chickpeas to 80 kg per acre, and Kabuli chickpeas to 50 kg per acre.
The low yield allowance is a standard feature of production insurance, intended for situations where the cost of harvesting exceeds the crop’s market value. If an appraised yield falls below the threshold, AFSC can reduce the appraisal to zero, which factors into indemnity calculations. The provision can be applied to an entire field or just part of it, but all eligible acres must be diverted to an alternative use such as pasture or silage.
Producers can use AFSC’s online yield estimation calculator to assess potential yields and decide when to harvest or repurpose a crop. The tool requires crop type, row spacing, head or pod counts, and average kernel or seed counts to generate an estimate.
The preharvest process remains unchanged. Farmers must contact AFSC at least five days before beginning alternate use work, providing crop type, acreage, estimated yields, and intended use.
Get more details here:
https://afsc.ca/news/low-yield-threshold-increased-for-2025/
