This article appeared in the Spring 2016 issue of Pulse Crop News.

2016 Changes

This year, a number of changes were discussed between the Alberta Pulse Growers (APG) and the Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) to increase the accuracy and relevance of insurance coverage available for pulse growers.

High priority items worked on this year included a final shift in field pea pricing toward the edible end of the spectrum, a fall price source change for field peas, and a separate, distinct category for yellow dry beans. The working group including APG and AFSC staff has guided the following changes through the provincial and federal process to gain final approval of the comprehensive premium cost sharing level.

1. Field pea pricing will change from a 70/30 edible/feed end use split to reflect 100 per cent edible end use in 2016. Information from APG and other sources indicated that a vast majority of growers are planting with the goal of growing edible end use peas. To reflect the new pricing, the grade guarantee for field peas will move from a 3CAN to a 2CAN.

2. The AFSC Fall Insurance Price source for #2 yellows will change in 2016 from www.statpub.com to the Price and Data Quotes (www.pdqinfo.ca) system. The new price source should better represent the Alberta cash price to which growers in the province are exposed.

3. Yellow dry beans will have their own distinct category this year to accurately reflect yields and coverage for the crop. Due to the lack of a good price source for yellow beans for insurance purposes, the black bean pricing will be used until a stable, reliable price source is created or becomes available.

NCII Acres in 2015

New Crops Insurance Initiative (NCII) – In 2015, the NCII product was released to cover new and small acre crops that aren’t large enough or have enough background information for inclusion in the Annual Crop Insurance Program. Coverage is based on some cost of production numbers for the individual crop and indemnities are based on other crops insured on the farm.