Read the following article from a website.
Saskatchewan’s crop insurance program is under review after two very different harvests. Last year farmers brought in a record wheat crop. This year, a dry spring and a July hailstorm cut yields on many farms by about a third. The provincial agency that runs the program has asked farmers, scientists and economists for ideas, and it will publish its proposals in February.
Marisa Gerlach, who grows wheat and canola near Kindersley, says the program punishes farmers twice for one bad season. “My coverage is based on my average yield over ten years,” she said. “So when hail wipes out a crop, I lose money that year, and then my protection drops for the next ten. That is like a fire insurer cutting your coverage because your house burned down.” Gerlach wants farmers to be allowed to leave their single worst year out of the average.
Osric Fennimore, who manages the provincial crop insurance agency, says he understands the request but warns that it has a price. “If every farmer drops a bad year, the plan pays out more, and premiums go up for everyone by as much as six percent,” Fennimore said. “A young farmer with a big loan feels every percent. We have to think about him too.” He would rather bring in any change slowly, over three or four seasons.
Lakshmi Elango, a climate scientist in Saskatoon, says a record and a disaster in back-to-back years are no surprise. “The swings between dry and wet seasons on the Prairies are getting wider,” Elango explained. “An average from ten years ago tells you less about next summer than it used to. Farmers already know this.” She wants the program to give more weight to recent weather. Matthias Grenier, a farm economist, would like the plan to reward farmers who keep moisture in their soil, for example by leaving stubble in the fields. “Good habits should earn a lower premium,” Grenier said, “but only if an agronomist has walked the field and confirmed them.”
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
Gerlach would likely say that the ten-year average 2..
This article would most likely appear in 3..
Fennimore’s concerns would likely be supported by 4..
The writer presents the issue as 5..
The following is a comment by a visitor to the website page. Complete the comment by choosing the best option to fill in each blank.
AI explanationShows the answer. Tap to open.
Correct Answer: possible changes to a crop insurance program
Why this is correct: The program is under review, and the agency has asked people for ideas. Each speaker suggests or questions a change to it.
Passage Reference: Saskatchewan’s crop insurance program is under review after two very different harvests.
Tips: For each option, ask which of Gerlach, Fennimore, Elango and Grenier speak to it. Ask which option the reporter would have to explain before every quote makes sense.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a record wheat harvest in Saskatchewan: The record harvest is background. It explains why the review started.
- the cost of loans for young farmers: Fennimore mentions a young farmer with a big loan in one sentence. Loans are not the subject.
- new ways to protect fields from hail: Hail is mentioned, but nobody suggests a way to protect fields from it.
Correct Answer: goes on hurting a farmer long after one bad season
Passage Reference: So when hail wipes out a crop, I lose money that year, and then my protection drops for the next ten.
Why this is correct: Gerlach says hail costs her money in the bad year. Then her protection drops for the next ten years, so one season keeps hurting her.
Tips: Read every sentence Gerlach says, quoted or reported. Keep the statement her words lead to, and cross out ideas from Fennimore, Elango or Grenier.
Why the other options are wrong:
- should count recent weather more heavily: Giving more weight to recent weather is Elango’s idea. Gerlach wants to leave out her worst year.
- should give way to checks of each field: Having an expert walk the field is part of Grenier’s idea. Gerlach does not mention field checks.
- is fair to farmers who carry big loans: Fennimore is the one who talks about a young farmer with a big loan. Gerlach calls the rule unfair.
Correct Answer: a regional newspaper for Prairie farm families
Passage Reference: Last year farmers brought in a record wheat crop.
Why this is correct: The article reports a review of a provincial program after two very different local harvests. Farmers, an official and experts give their views, as in a regional paper.
Tips: Read the article again from start to finish. For each option, ask whether that publication would print this text just as it is, and why not.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a science journal about changing weather: Elango talks about weather, but she is one voice of four. No study is presented.
- a guide that explains how to buy coverage: Nobody tells readers how to buy coverage. The article reports different views on changing the program.
- an advertisement paid for by the provincial agency: Fennimore speaks for the agency, but Gerlach and others criticize the program. An advertisement would not include that.
Correct Answer: a survey showing young farmers struggle to pay premiums now
Passage Reference: If every farmer drops a bad year, the plan pays out more, and premiums go up for everyone by as much as six percent ... A young farmer with a big loan feels every percent.
Why this is correct: Fennimore warns that premiums could go up for everyone. He says a young farmer with a big loan feels every percent, so proof that they already struggle would back him.
Tips: Read every sentence Fennimore says. Then picture each option as a true fact, and ask whether it makes his warning look wiser or helps someone else.
Why the other options are wrong:
- records showing old averages no longer predict harvests: This would back Elango, who says a ten-year average tells you less than it used to.
- proof that stubble keeps moisture in the soil in dry years: This would help Grenier’s idea of rewarding good soil habits. It does not touch Fennimore’s warning.
- reports of hail ruining the same farm twice in a row: This would help Gerlach’s case for leaving out a bad year. It does not support Fennimore.
Correct Answer: an open question on which many views are wanted
Passage Reference: Saskatchewan’s crop insurance program is under review after two very different harvests. ... The provincial agency that runs the program has asked farmers, scientists and economists for ideas
Why this is correct: The writer says the agency has asked farmers, scientists and economists for ideas. The program is still under review, so the question is open.
Tips: Set the quotes aside and read only the writer’s own sentences. Test every option against those sentences alone, and drop any opinion the writer never states.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a plan that the writer hopes will fail: The writer never gives a personal opinion. Each view comes from a speaker, not from the writer.
- a funny story about farmers and the weather: Nothing in the writer’s own sentences is meant to be funny. Hail and drought hurt many farms.
- a problem the agency has already solved: The agency has not decided anything yet. Its proposals will come later.
Correct Answer: a third
Passage Reference: cut yields on many farms by about a third
Why this is correct: A dry spring and a July hailstorm cut yields on many farms by about a third.
Tips: The commenter needs a fraction. Look at how badly this year’s storm and dry spring hurt crops.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a tenth: A tenth is much smaller than the drop in the article.
- a quarter: A quarter is not the share the article gives.
- a half: A half is bigger than the drop the article reports.
Correct Answer: a fire insurer
Passage Reference: That is like a fire insurer cutting your coverage because your house burned down.
Why this is correct: Gerlach says the rule is like a fire insurer cutting your coverage because your house burned down.
Tips: The wheat grower explains the rule by comparing it with something from everyday life. Find what she compares it with.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a car insurer: Gerlach does not compare the rule with car insurance.
- a health insurer: Gerlach does not compare the rule with health insurance.
- a travel insurer: Gerlach does not compare the rule with travel insurance.
Correct Answer: three or four
Passage Reference: He would rather bring in any change slowly, over three or four seasons.
Why this is correct: Fennimore would rather bring in any change slowly, over three or four seasons.
Tips: Find the time frame the agency manager prefers for a new rule.
Why the other options are wrong:
- one or two: Fennimore wants a slower change than one or two seasons.
- five or six: Five or six seasons is longer than Fennimore suggests.
- eight or ten: Fennimore does not suggest a change this slow.
Correct Answer: an agronomist
Passage Reference: but only if an agronomist has walked the field and confirmed them
Why this is correct: Grenier says good habits should earn a lower premium, but only if an agronomist has walked the field.
Tips: Read the condition the economist sets for lower premiums. The blank is the person who must check the farm.
Why the other options are wrong:
- an insurance agent: Grenier does not say an insurance agent should check the field.
- a neighbour: Neighbours are not mentioned in the article.
- a government inspector: Grenier names a different kind of expert, not an inspector.
Correct Answer: February
Passage Reference: it will publish its proposals in February
Why this is correct: The agency will publish its proposals in February.
Tips: Find the month the agency has promised to share its ideas with the public.
Why the other options are wrong:
- December: December is not mentioned in the article.
- April: April is not mentioned in the article.
- June: June is not mentioned in the article.
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