It’s a long way from official, but a pre-election promise to boost AgriStability payout limits and speed-up payments could go forward to help farmers deal with tariff impacts.
AJ Gill, national leader of ag risk management resources for MNP, says that it is definitely possible the increased cap and larger interim payment for the 2025 year could go forward, as the Liberals have proposed, though not all provinces have yet signalled they will sign on.
Just ahead of the election call on Sunday, ag minister Kody Blois announced the plan to bump the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent, a doubling of the payment cap to $6 million and a greater amount available for an interim payment for the 2025 program year.
Funding for AgriStability is split 60/40 with the federal and provincial governments — so the final tally of how much money would be available for farmers will depend on each province committing to supporting the changes. So far, B.C. and Manitoba have said they see this as a positive move, but Saskatchewan has called the plan “empty promises” by the Liberals.
Gill adds there could be an announced targeted advanced payment (TAP) 2025, in addition to the expanded cap; however, programs like those can end up leaving producers in an overpayment situation, and they’d be required to pay the funds back.
“The program’s intent is to keep the farm viable a little longer and buy time to adjust,” says Gill.
While there is some uncertainty as to whether or not the program will go forward once a new government is selected April 28th, Gill encourages all producers to enroll in AgriStability by the April 30th deadline and to use the tools available for risk management planning.
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