Saving Alberta farmers time and money 

Posted on November 28, 2024 by Ryan Dahlman

By Jasper Tumblod
Southern Alberta Newspapers

AgriStability is one of several business risk management programs offered by the government to assist farmers in managing substantial hazards. Other products in the package include AgriInvest, AgriInsurance, and AgriRecovery.

AgriStability gives Canadian farmers an ongoing whole-farm risk management tool that protects them against severe decreases that jeopardize their farm’s profitability and are beyond their ability to control.

Allowable revenue under the scheme comprises agricultural commodity sale earnings as well as production insurance proceeds. Allowable expenses include commodity purchases and direct input costs incurred throughout the agricultural activity. Farmers are vital to Alberta’s economy, providing essential food resources and driving rural prosperity, yet they often face burdensome paperwork and high accounting fees that hinder their productivity. Governments are making changes to the AgriStability program to address these challenges.

A new option to align AgriStability reporting with tax filing in 2025 will result in less paperwork, reduce accounting fees, and make enrolment and participation in the program much easier. An accelerated deadline to submit program forms to AFSC will lead to earlier payments. Enrolling in AgriStability can also provide producers access to other credit options like the federal Advance Payments Program, which offers low-cost cash advances.

“We value the dedication and adaptability of our province’s farmers. These changes to the AgriStability program will better respond to each producer’s unique situation, making the program more predictable, timely and simpler to access, which is what producers have been asking for,” said RJ Sigurdson, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation.

AgriStability is an individual, whole-farm, margin-based program that helps producers who experience margin declines greater than 30 per cent due to production loss, adverse market conditions and increased costs. In 2023, AgriStability also increased compensation for margin declines exceeding 30 per cent, offering 80 cents per dollar of decline, up from the previous rate of 70 cents.

Under the Sustainable CAP, the AgriStability compensation rate has been raised from 70 per cent to 80 per cent, or 80 cents every dollar of assistance. This adjustment is effective for the 2023 program year.

The benefit trigger point and fee calculation have not changed; benefits continue to activate at 70 per cent of the reference margin, and it costs just $315 for every $100,000 of reference margin support. Losses more than 30 per cent are now paid at $0.80 per dollar of decrease.

Producers rely on business risk management programs to offset the financial impact of many challenges. AgriStability provides income stabilization protection to help producers manage large margin declines that threaten their farm’s viability.

“Farmers can often face uncertainty, and programs like AgriStability help them to protect their operations. To make things a little bit easier, we’ve made changes to the AgriStability program that will reduce paperwork, so our farmers can get the support they need, faster, and continue producing top-quality products,” said Lawrence MacAulay, federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.