Galician farms provide a lot for their animals, but little for their crops

Weather is still not considered a risk factor for most Galician farmers and herders. At least not important enough for them to consider it necessary to take out insurance to protect themselves from its consequences.

This is proven by the fact that only 673 of the 25,000 livestock farms in the community — 6,000 dairy farms and another 19,000 meat farms — have some kind of policy that protects their crops before a prolonged dry spell like the one recorded last year or before wind and rain storms like those that usually hit the community.

Because, although the production and the insured area increased by more than 50% in the four-year period 2019-2022, the number of policies that are concluded is still low in relation to the amount of the specific gravity of the sector.

In this sense, according to the data of the Spanish Association of Insurance Subjects of Combined Agricultural Insurance (Agroseguro), during 2022 a total of 36,407 hectares under fodder crops — mainly corn — were insured in Galicia. and extensive grass crops, on useful agricultural land (SAU) a total of more than 440,000 hectares. Another 2,986 hectares intended for obtaining grapes for wine — the community has almost 30,000 of them registered — and another 287 hectares whose main orientation was the cultivation of vegetables are protected. In total, the volume of production included in the policies slightly exceeded 640,000 tons with an insured capital of around 69.5 million euros.

significantly lower

This amount, however, is significantly lower than the value of the assets covered by the livestock sector—almost 870 million euros—and a production area where insurance contracting is the majority. Agrosegur confirms this by pointing out that practically all Galician farms today have a livestock policy that covers the costs of removing and destroying dead animals. In total, more than 37.6 million animals were covered, 14% more compared to the previous year and 30% more compared to those that were insured in 2019.

The growth experienced by “ensuring the reproduction and production of cattle” was also important, one of the most represented, which already protects 51% of Galician cows from different situations such as compulsory slaughter due to sanitary campaigns, fever, foot-and-mouth disease, spongiform encephalopathy or attack by wild animals. Some contingencies can be compounded by many others, such as those resulting from any type of accident, sudden death, mastitis or even less common diseases such as anthrax or flatulence. Such is the relevance of these policies that the covered capital is close to 610 million euros today.

Fall due to farm closures

The high amount achieved, Ucoga points out, despite a 3 percent reduction in the number of policies due to the closure of farms and a 6 percent increase in the amount of premiums. “It is striking the general increase in premiums, which, year after year, are recorded by lines such as the removal of corpses, for which Agroseguro cannot claim profitability. In this sense, we always call from Ucoga and claim that they would not always pay the same and look for the culprits in supplier companies or other areas where losses accumulate, certainly not in Galicia, and even less in the beef sector, “says Iván Novo, the general director of this brokerage houses linked to the Galician agricultural cooperatives, the absolute leader in the Galician countryside with a market share of close to 70%.As for the little success that is being recorded the contracting of agricultural policies in Galicia, from this entity indicates the lack of publication and the dates on which the contracting period ends — before most of the corn farms in the community are planted — as the main causes that justify it.

safe food

“In any case, these are very interesting lines that, at a very reasonable price, make it possible to provide something so precious in these times, such as fodder, and thus the feeding of livestock throughout the year,” says the manager of Ucoga.