The federal government and provinces have agreed to spot farmers nine extra weeks to enroll in AgriStability for the 2020 program year.
The governments on Friday announced the AgriStability enrolment deadline for 2020, previously April 30, has been extended without penalty to July 3.
The decision by Ottawa, the provinces and territories “will enable the program to help more farmers manage the impact of current market disruptions, increased expenses, and production challenges facing many farm operations.”
Farmers now experiencing losses are also encouraged to apply for interim payments under AgriStability, the governments said, “for more rapid support.”
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The income stabilization program is meant to provide support to farmers in years when they experience a large margin decline, potentially providing payments when a farmer’s current year program margin falls below 70 per cent of his or her reference margin.
The program has come under fire in recent months from various farm groups, seeking changes to improve its predictability and efficacy.
Among other changes, ag groups are calling for the program’s payment trigger to be restored to when the program year margin falls below 85 per cent of a farmer’s historical reference margin. The trigger was dropped to its current level in 2013. — Glacier FarmMedia Network
