Forage Rainfall Plan improved for 2014
Following a review of forage insurance in Ontario, Agricorp has made several improvements to the Production Insurance Forage Rainfall Plan for 2014. Industry representatives, Agricorp and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food collaborated to provide better protection for forage producers.
There are five improvements to the plan for 2014: Producers can choose more coverage; producers now have the option to insure their forage up to a greater maximum value; they can insure up to the harvested value of their forage, not just the standing value; claim calculations better reflect market conditions; and claims calculations now include a price index to reflect higher forage replacement costs in periods of significant rainfall shortage.
The price index is higher when rainfall shortage is more severe. A higher price index results in a larger payment. Less rainfall means larger payments. The connection between rainfall and yield has changed in the calculation of a claim. Smaller yields are now assumed in connection to rainfall shortages. This will lead to larger payments for larger rainfall deficits. Claims are triggered at a smaller rainfall deficit. Producers will trigger a claim when their average rainfall is less than 85 percent of the historical average, instead of the previous threshold of 80 percent. A daily rainfall minimum is added. Any day with rain less than 1mm is counted as zero. This minimum recognizes that small amounts of rain do not help growth. New applications must be completed by May 1, 2014. For further information navigate to: www.agricorp.com/en-ca/Programs/ProductionInsurance/ForageRainfall/
Free choice feeding for free range meat chickens
The results of a recent research project support the idea of using a free-choice feeding system as an alternative way to provide feed for meat chickens raised in production systems that include access to the outdoors. The most common type of feed used in commercial poultry production is a formulated complete feed usually presented to the birds in a pellet or a crumble form, or formulated, mixed and fed in a meal form. It is widely believed that this formulated complete feed will provide the birds with a better balance of the ingredients that provide the energy, protein, vitamins and minerals to optimize bird health and performance. In addition, formulated complete feeds make feeding poultry less complicated and easier to manage in automated feeding systems. However, for poultry that are raised in a free range system where they have regular access to the outdoors, free choice feeding may offer some advantages and should be considered as a viable option. Free choice feeding is a method that offers birds separate feedstuffs (e.g. grains, protein concentrates, natural vitamin and mineral sources) from which they can self-select a diet suited to their needs which can vary in response to environmental and physiological conditions. It is reasonable to expect that free range raised birds will often encounter a greater range of environmental requirements than those raised in confinement. It has been suggested that chickens do not chose diets to maximize growth and efficiency; rather they self-formulate to enhance their well-being in their environment and for long-term survival benefits.
