Production Insurance

Sweet corn (processing)

How it works

When you enrol in Production Insurance, you are guaranteed a level of production based on your yield history and the type of coverage you choose. A claim may be paid if an insured peril causes your yield to fall below your guaranteed production.

Production Insurance covers you for losses due to adverse weather, disease, pests, wildlife, or other uncontrollable natural perils, except for perils excluded in the Contract of Insurance – General Terms and the Commodity-Specific Terms: Processing Vegetables – Average Farm Yield on the Publications page.

Production Insurance coverage for processing vegetable crops applies only during the period from seeding or planting until harvest. Loss or damage due to storage conditions is not insured. If your farm management practices contribute to a production loss, you may lose some or all of your insurance coverage.

Available coverage

Production loss coverage

This coverage provides a single guaranteed production for each crop on the total number of acres you plant, regardless of the number of separate harvest periods or processors. The harvested production from a high-yielding harvest period will offset the low yield from a low-yielding harvest period.

Production loss – separate harvest coverage

This coverage provides a guaranteed production for each separate harvest period and processor. The harvested production from a high-yielding harvest period will not offset the low yield from a low-yielding harvest period. You may have a maximum of three harvest periods (and three guaranteed productions) for each processor.

For example, if you have three harvest periods, you will have three guaranteed productions. If you have a contract with two processors, you will have two guaranteed productions.

To qualify for separate harvest coverage:

You must have at least 30 acres for each separate harvest period with each processor
When acreage is grown for only one processor, there must be at least three days between harvest periods
You and the processor must intend to have separate harvest periods at the time of your application
Agricorp must agree to the separate units

Unseeded acreage coverage

A claim may be paid under unseeded acreage coverage if an insured peril other than drought prevents you and a number of other growers in the same area from planting or seeding all or part of your acreage by the planting deadline.

Unseeded acreage payment = [claim price × 1/3 AFY × (total unseeded acreage – 3 acre deductible)] – [$1 × total unseeded acreage]

Your unseeded acreage claim is based on the current year contract acres.

Replant coverage

A claim may be paid under replant coverage if you need to replant some or all acres of your crop due to damage caused by an insured peril. Payments may be made whether you replant the same crop or a different crop. Replanting must be completed by the planting deadline.

Payments for replant coverage are based on the crop that was originally planted and insured. The amount is based on a maximum per-acre rate that Agricorp sets annually for each crop.

Replant payment = damaged acres × replant value/acre*

*If your actual receipts are less than the Agricorp maximum, the lower value is paid.

Minimum eligible acres

To qualify for a claim payment under replant coverage, the minimum acreage requirement is three contiguous acres.

Bypassed acreage coverage

Bypassed acreage refers to acreage that was suitable for harvesting and processing, but was not harvested because of excessive heat and/or rainfall or other insured peril agreed to by Agricorp.

For more information, see the Bypassed Acreage Coverage feature sheet on the Publications page.

Seed cost coverage

This coverage is available when an insured peril results in a claim under replant coverage, a claim under by-passed acreage coverage, or a claim for zero production claim. The coverage covers the cost of seeds used, up to a maximum value set out by Agricorp.

Note: The processor pays the premium for the seed cost coverage.

For claims payable under replant coverage, the seed cost portion of the claim is paid to the processor.
If a claim is payable under by-passed acreage coverage, and the final yield is equal to or greater than your guaranteed production, no claim is payable under seed cost coverage
If there is a claim under production loss coverage, a claim under seed cost coverage is paid only on acres where there is zero production and no harvest and where the grower does not meet their total guaranteed production on the remaining harvested acres.

For more information, see the Seed Cost Coverage for Processing Crops feature sheet on the Publications page.

Calculating your coverage and claims

Your coverage depends on:

Average farm yield (AFY)
Coverage level
Guaranteed production
Claim price (for some processing crops only)

Average farm yield (AFY)

An AFY is calculated and used as a benchmark to determine if your actual production is below average. If you are contracted to more than one processor, you will have a separate AFY for each processor.

AFY for existing plan participants

Your AFY is calculated using five to ten consecutive years of your actual reported yields. For any year you did not grow, the processor average yield is used as a plug-in value.

AFY for new plan participants

Each crop is assigned an underwritten five-year AFY that is based primarily on the processor average yield (plug-in) and a variety of other factors such as township averages, soil type, etc.

Each year that you participate in the plan, your actual yield replaces an underwritten yield until your AFY is composed entirely of your own actual yields.

If you are new to the plan or if you did not have production in one or more years used to calculate your AFY within the last five years, Agricorp will assign an underwritten value for the year based on processor averages, township averages, soil type, drainage, and various farm management criteria.

If you have signed a contract with a new processor, the new processor’s five-year average yield per acre is used to determine your new beginning AFY.

Yield buffering

Unusually high and low yields are adjusted (buffered) to stabilize and lessen the impact of extreme yields on your AFY.

If your actual yield is above the upper threshold (130 per cent of your AFY), the yield is buffered two-thirds of the way down to the upper threshold.
If your actual yield is below the lower threshold (70 per cent of your AFY), the yield is buffered two-thirds of the way up to the lower threshold.

Plug-in values and underwritten yields are not buffered.

Coverage level

When you apply or renew each year, you choose one coverage level for each crop. It determines your guaranteed production. There are different coverage levels depending on the type of coverage you choose.

Guaranteed production

If an insured peril causes your actual yield to fall below your guaranteed production (GP), a production claim may be paid on the difference.

GP per acre = AFY x your chosen coverage level

Total GP = GP per acre x total number of acres you are growing

Claim price

The claim price is used to calculate any potential claim under production loss coverage.

Canadian Agricultural Partnership – Agricorp – Ontario – Canada