WESTERN ONTARIO: Crop insurance claims way down

GUELPH — Southwestern Ontario once again claimed the bulk of Agricorp payouts this year, but overall payouts are way down from last year’s record-breakers.

Of the $13.7 million that Ontario’s crop insurance agency paid out for replanted acres (which were the bulk of the payouts this year), $11.3 million went to Southwestern Ontario. Soybeans were the biggest line item, gobbling up $5.6 million in replanting claims, followed by winter wheat at $3.5 million and corn at $2.2 million.

Unseeded acreage claims were way down, with total claims across the province at $242,000.

That’s in huge contrast to last year, where overall claims were way higher, thanks largely to unseeded acreage through the cold, wet spring.

Agricorp last year paid out record amounts: $51 million for unplanted corn and soybeans. The vast majority, $47 million, was for unplanted corn acres. But because there’s not much point replanting a crop that didn’t plant well in the first place, reseeded acreage claims last year were actually down from the five-year average.