Some crop insurance prices look good

Details of the 2010 Saskatchewan Crop Insurance program have been announced. Some crops are going to enjoy insured price levels that look attractive compared to the market. The insured prices are based on a December estimate. Since then, a number of commodities have softened. On wheat, durum, barley, mustard and field peas, the insured prices are close to current price levels. However, canola has an insured price of $9.07 a bushel, which is a fair bit above the current market. Flax is quite attractive as well at $9.65 a bushel. Canaryseed has a crop insurance price of 19 cents a pound, a cent or two above the current price. On lentils, crop insurance is using a price of 26 cents a pound for large green and 27 cents on reds. Current lentil prices are higher than that, but new crop bids have been well under those levels. Rather than the base price, producers can choose a Variable Price Option or an In-Season Price Option. The Variable Price Option uses a July price forecast and the insured price can increase or decrease by as much as 50 per cent in relation to the base price. The In-Season price option uses a six month average of prices from next September to February. It too can increase or decrease by a maximum of 50 per cent as compared to the base price. In my opinion, the base price has a strong probability of being the highest of the three on the aforementioned canola, flax, canaryseed and lentils. I’m Kevin Hursh.