January 23, 2020
Last year's growing challenges may have Ontario farmers concerned about how future Production Insurance coverage will be affected. Fortunately, the program is designed with features to help stabilize coverage so that one bad year may not have a significant impact.
How yields remain stable
Farmers may be concerned about the possibility that a lower than average yield in 2019 could reduce their average farm yield (AFY). An AFY reflects a producer's yield history and is used as a benchmark to determine if production is actually below average. This means that unusually high and low yields are buffered to stabilize a customer's AFY and lessen the impact of extreme yields.
To learn more about how yield buffering works, read the 
Yield Buffering feature sheet on agricorp.com.
How surcharges and discounts remain stable
Producers should keep in mind that one bad year may not significantly influence premiums.
Production Insurance has premium discounts and surcharges to help ensure a producer's premiums accurately reflect their claim history. Discounts and surcharges take into account a producer's individual claim rate compared to the claim rate for the whole crop plan. In a year when many other plan participants are also in a claim situation, even a large claim may have little to no effect on the discount or surcharge because the claim rate for the plan is also likely to increase.
For examples of how discounts and surcharges are calculated, see the Discounts and Surcharges feature sheet on agricorp.com.
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