Damage to Saskatchewan crops and forage caused by beavers and their dams will be included starting next spring in the province’s wildlife damage compensation program.
Starting in the 2011 crop year, the province announced Tuesday, the program will be expanded to compensate crop and forage growers for damage caused by any wild animal, beavers and blackbirds included.
Compensation for crop or forage damage under the program was previously limited to damage caused by white-tailed deer, mule deer, antelope, elk, bears, moose, bison, wild boars, ducks, geese and sandhill cranes.
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“This change will make sure help is there for producers when a beaver dam floods a crop or other wildlife cause damage to crops or forages,” federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said in the province’s release.
“Producers shouldn’t have to bear the costs associated with the wildlife that we all enjoy, and strengthening this program to include beavers and all wild animals will further assist producers dealing with wildlife issues,” provincial Ag Minister Bob Bjornerud added.
Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp. administers the wildlife damage compensation program, a cost-shared federal/provincial offering for which no premiums are required and eligible farmers don’t have to be crop insurance customers.
David Marit, a councillor in the southern RM of Willow Bunch and president of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, noted in the province’s release that this year’s wet weather has led to a “significant increase in beaver damage in many RMs.”
The province noted its wildlife program has seen a number of expansions since 2008, such as an increase to full compensation (up from 80 per cent), as well as bear damage compensation for beekeepers; compensation for wildlife damage to swath, bale and corn grazing; and compensation for livestock killed or injured by predators.
