Farmers of southwest Saskatchewan call for crop insurance overhaul after 9 years of drought

Drought stricken farmers from southwest Sask. went to the legislature on Wednesday to seek help. Wayne Mantyka has the details.

Farmers from drought-stricken southwest Saskatchewan have said they can’t survive another year without changes to the current crop insurance program.

Producers near the Alberta border report yields as low as 10 bushels an acre after nine straight years of drought. Some say the current insurance system simply isn’t built to handle consecutive years of disaster.

“I did six rounds of herbicide and still collected crop insurance. I would’ve been better off not even seeding that field,” said Kalin Deis, who farms near Richmound.

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Farmers from the Rural Municipalities (RMs) of Big Stick, Fox Valley and Richmound travelled to the legislature, asking the province to redesign the program.

RM of Big Stick councillor Tyson Jacksteit says the system penalizes farmers year after year.

“Every time you claim, your yield average drops. So if you start at 30 bushels per acre, it just continues on a downward spiral,” he said.

The NDP raised the issue in question period.

Opposition Leader Carla Beck says the program is failing producers facing long-term drought conditions.

“These RMs have been devastated by consecutive drought, and the current crop insurance programs simply don’t provide the supports that are needed,” she said.

The provincial government says it’s willing to listen but believes crop insurance is working.

“In our province, over the last four years, there’s been about $7 billion that has been paid out to Saskatchewan producers,” Premier Scott Moe said in his response.

The Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation has said there are provisions in place to handle situations like the one in the southwest.

“All crop insurance can do is provide that yield based support for what they’ve proven to grow,” president Jeff Morrow explained. “Yield cushion does support that. There is other programs available like AgriStability.”

The producers predict that 2026 could be a make or break year in their region.

They say that if the drought continues for a tenth consecutive year without changes to crop insurance, at least half will go out of business.