AgriStability

AgriStability provides Canadian producers with an ongoing whole-farm risk management tool that offers protection against large declines that threaten the viability of their farm and are beyond their capacity to manage.

Under the program, allowable income includes the proceeds from agricultural commodity sales and the proceeds from production insurance. Allowable expenses include commodity purchases, along with direct input costs incurred in the farming operation.

Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership

The Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP) is a new $3.5-billion, five-year agreement, which runs April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2028. This agreement between the federal, provincial and territorial governments strengthens the competitiveness, innovation, and resiliency of the agriculture, agri‐food and agri‐based products sector. The agreement includes $1 billion in federal programs and activities and $2.5 billion in cost-shared programs and activities funded by federal, provincial and territorial governments.

AgriStability enhancements will reduce paperwork and lower costs for producers

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.

Read the full news release: Saving Alberta farmers time and money | alberta.ca

Compensation rate increased under Sustainable CAP

Under Sustainable CAP, the AgriStability compensation rate has increased to 80 per cent or 80 cents per dollar of support from the previous 70 per cent rate. This change is in effect for the 2023 program year.

What hasn’t changed is the benefit trigger point or how fees are calculated – benefits still begin to trigger at 70 per cent of the reference margin and it still costs only $315 for every $100,000 of reference margin support. Losses in excess of 30 per cent are now compensated at $0.80 for every dollar of decline.

Reference margin limit removed from AgriStability

The reference margin limit was removed from AgriStability in 2021. This change had significant impact for many producers and was retroactive to the 2020 program year.

This change makes AgriStability less complex, and more responsive to all types of farming operations. We anticipate that approximately half of participants will benefit from the change over time and their coverage could be increased by up to 30 per cent.

For more information on what the removal of the reference margin limit may mean to your farm please see AgriStability sees significant changes with the removal of the reference margin limit

How AgriStability Works: 2023-2027 program years

Why Choose AgriStability?

Whole farm protection – AgriStability protects your farm income based on all of your commodities.
Unique coverage – Your coverage is based on your own farm history.
Payments in times of financial distress – Provides assistance to producers who experience margin declines greater than 30 per cent due to production loss, adverse market conditions and increased costs.
Access to other credit options and programs – AgriStability can give you access to credit options such as the Advance Payments Program (APP), which provides cash advances through various farm commodity organizations.
Affordable coverage – AgriStability is a low-cost risk management program available to all producers.

AgriStability is designed to help producers protect their farming operations from income decline. Program participants cannot receive full AgriStability payments until the program year is complete. However, by applying for an interim advance you may receive a portion of the estimated benefit early.

Determining support levels

Production margins result from allowable income less allowable expenses, adjusted for changes in inventories, accounts receivable, accounts payable and purchased inputs. Under the program, allowable income includes the proceeds from agricultural commodity sales and the proceeds from production insurance. Allowable expenses include commodity purchases, along with direct input costs incurred in the farming operation.

Interim advances

Producers enrolled in AgriStability are eligible to apply for an advance on their AgriStability payment. New participants may be able to apply for an interim advance payment as long as they are enrolled and have paid the program fee.

To be eligible for an AgriStability interim advance, a producer must:

• Have completed six months of consecutive farming activity and a production cycle.
• Be farming in Canada
• Have reported farming income to Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) as an individual, corporation/co-operative or a trust/communal organization
• Have paid their AgriStability fee