Pilot production insurance for ginseng growers

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

by SUSAN MANN

Agricorp is offering a new pilot production insurance plan for ginseng and that’s good news for growers, says Ken Van Torre, chair of the Ontario Ginseng Growers Association.

The production insurance is designed to help farmers protect their seedling gardens. The pilot runs form Aug. 1 to Aug. 31, 2014 and will be open to 25 farmers.

Van Torre says “we know there’s definitely a need for some sort of production insurance. We’ve had none whatsoever.” Ginseng growers have been working to get a production insurance program for the past seven to eight years.

The insurance will cover losses in first-year ginseng gardens that would need to be reseeded, he notes. “If you lose your seedlings, you basically have to replant it and there’s quite a bit of cost into that.”

Van Torre says they’re definitely expecting there will be interest in the pilot program.

In the past, there have been early warm springs that prompted early emergence followed by hard frosts in May that wiped out seedlings. Some other types of damage to seedlings are caused by drown outs and burning from the sun after the shades have been ripped off during a wind storm.

Interested growers can call or go to Agricorp’s website to learn more about the pilot and to apply. The web address is: www.agricorp.com. BF