ST. PAUL – As multiple Alberta farmers and producers face dry, hot conditions this year, the government of Alberta and Canada is providing them more freedom to turn poor crops, specifically cereal and pulse crops, into livestock feed and still get full crop insurance payments.
The increased allowance applies only to crops harvested for livestock feed in the 2025 crop year. It does not apply to abandoned acres or to crops like canola that are not usually used for livestock feed.
Crops harvested for feed are usually poor crops that are not good enough to be harvested for grain, so farmers instead cut them early to be used as feed.
In such cases, crop producers in Alberta with insurance through Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC), are protected from losing too much income if their harvest is smaller than expected due to conditions like drought or heat.
At the beginning of the year, farmers choose how much yield per acre to insure. If the harvest falls short of that level, AFSC pays for the shortfall. However, even poor crops are still given some appraised value under what's called the "low yield allowance".
Low yield allowance is the estimated amount a poor crop might still produce, which is subtracted from insurance payouts.
But due to the "tough crop year", many farmers and producers in Alberta are worried about a much lower grain yield this year, according to an Aug. 8 provincial news release. So, both the provincial and the federal governments are increasing the threshold for low yield allowance.
For example, in St. Paul, wheat, barley, and oats are common cereal or pulse crops. Their standard threshold are 150 kg per acre, or respectively 5.5, 6.6, and 8.1 bushels, respectively. The 2025 increased the threshold on acres salvaged for feed to 300 kg and, respectively, 11, 13.2, and 16.1 bushels for the aforementioned crops.
"I’ve spoken with livestock and crop producers in Alberta who are worried about the impact that dry conditions could have this year. Changing the yield threshold will give them some breathing room, so they can make the best decisions for their operations," said Heath MacDonald, federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, in an Aug. 8 provincial news release.
RJ Sigurdson, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation, echoed the federal minister's words, noting, "This adjustment lets producers act swiftly to salvage crops for livestock feed, rather than watch their fields deteriorate further and risk harvesting nothing."
County of St. Paul Coun. Darrell Younghans, who is also the chairman of the County's Agricultural Services Board, welcomed the temporary change. "They've done that before," he said.
He said the low-yield allowance adjustment helps farmers make the difficult choice between trying to harvest a poor grain crop and converting it to feed, "a little easier and it's quicker," because the adjustment makes it more financially viable for farmers to convert poor grain crops into feed.
For example, if a farmer insured 50 bushels an acre and the AFSC said their damaged crop could still produce seven bushels, the farmer would normally only be paid for the 43 bushels, explained Younghans.
For 2025, however, as per the adjusted low yield allowance threshold, if an appraised crop yield falls below the new threshold, AFSC can reduce the appraisal to zero. This means farmers receive payment for the lowest portion of the yield that was previously counted.
According to the provincial and federal governments, farmers must still contact the AFSC at least five days before they begin converting their crops for feed.
