Wild rice harvesting in northern Saskatchewan. Photo courtesy of Kandis Riese, Riese Photography.
For the third straight year, coverage for wild rice producers under the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Program remains the same.
However, premiums are on the way up.
For the maximum 70 per cent coverage, wild rice harvesters in the central region have to pay a premium of $2.74 per acre — up from $2.41/acre last year.
In the western region, the premium is up to $1.46/acre this year. That is up 38 per cent from the $1.06/acre premium last year.
Wild rice producers in the eastern region have to pay a premium of $1.28/acre for maximum coverage this year — up from $1.14/acre in 2016.
Meanwhile, the insured price is once again $1.20/acre.
Claims are triggered when a region’s reported annual production is less than the average historical production, not by an individual producer’s loss.