The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recently published its annual report on estimates of support to agriculture, titled the “Agricultural Policy Monitoring and Evaluation 2021.” The report monitors and evaluates agricultural policies in 54 countries, including the 38 OECD countries, five non-OECD EU Member States, and 11 emerging economies. Between 2018 to 2020,… Read More
Category: Stability Programs
Increased funding for business risk management programs is the main driver of a $23.1 million increase for agriculture in Saskatchewan’s proposed budget. Deputy Premier and Finance Minister Donna Harpauer tabled the province’s 2021-22 budget on Tuesday, featuring a deficit of $2.6 billion and a plan to return to balanced books in 2026-27. The budget includes… Read More
The reference margin limit (RML) of AgriStability was a feature put in place back in 2013 with Growing Forward 2, and since then has been a confusing and misunderstood feature of the program. The recent agreement to business risk management program reform has caused quite a stir, but what does the RML removal mean for… Read More
The most recent meeting of the Federal-Provincial-Territorial (FPT) ag leaders came to a conclusion Thursday without a consensus on Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) Marie-Claude Bibeau’s proposed AgriStability changes. Devin Dreeshen, Minister of Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, says that the conclusion of the FPT meetings was a good deal for farmers, but the… Read More
The meeting of the Federal-Provincial-Territorial ag leaders ended without a full agreement on what Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Marie-Claude Bibeau proposed back in November, 2020. At that time, Bibeau offered to remove the reference margin limit and increase the coverage level from 70 per cent to 80 per cent. The cost structure of… Read More
After what feels like a never-ending game of extra innings baseball, the standoff between the Prairie provinces and the federal government over changes to AgriStability needs to end. All stakeholders are exhausted from the timeline-stretching, blown deadlines, fake outrage, and pure avoidance to find a solution to a rather simple issue. At different times it… Read More
The federal minister of agriculture says it’s been over 100 days since proposed funding and changes to AgriStability were announced, but she has not received a clear indication from any of the three Prairie Provinces on whether or not they will sign on. In a press conference Wednesday morning, Agriculture and Agri-Food minister Marie-Claude Bibeau… Read More
One of the silver linings of COVID-19 is that it has shone a spotlight on Canadian farms and food production, says the federal agriculture minister. Marie-Claude Bibeau joined Shaun Haney for Canada’s Agriculture Day to highlight the event and discuss several key agriculture policy files. Bibeau also delivered the opening remarks at Agriculture More Than… Read More
Farmers in Alberta will see a significant reduction in their crop insurance premiums for the 2021 growing season. Announced January 25 by the Alberta government and the Agricultural Financial Services Corporation (AFSC), a 20 per cent reduction will save farmers more than $55 million on their crop insurance premiums this year. Minister of Alberta Agriculture… Read More
Provincial agriculture ministers have been given a deadline of the end of January to indicate whether they want to pursue the federal government’s proposal to enhance the AgriStability business risk management program, according to high-level sources familiar with the file. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau offered to drop the reference margin limit and increase the compensation… Read More
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Marie-Claude Bibeau is still waiting to hear back from western provinces on her proposal to adapt the AgriStability program for 2020. Given that the calendar is set to flip to 2021 soon, the clock is winding down on the likelihood of changes being in place for 2020, she says…. Read More
The virtual Federal-Provincial-Territorial (FPT) agriculture ministers meeting recently concluded with a press conference featuring Ontario agriculture Minister Ernie Hardeman and Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food Marie Claude Bibeau. Hardeman made the collective provincial position clear that all ministers would go back home and review the “last minute” federal proposal. RealAgriculture’s Shaun Haney chatted with Minister… Read More
The federal-provincial-territorial (FPT) meeting concluded last week with a press conference hosted by Ontario’s Ag Minister, Ernie Hardeman, and the federal minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Marie Claude Bibeau. At the meeting, Bibeau presented the federal government’s offer to fund changes to AgriStability — but, according to the provinces, it was the first time they’d… Read More
Manitoba’s agriculture minister isn’t saying whether his province will or will not sign on to the federal government’s proposed changes to AgriStability, but he has plenty of concerns about the proposal put forward by his federal counterpart last week. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau proposed dropping the reference margin limit and increasing the compensation rate… Read More
Despite pressure from national farm groups and a willingness from the federal government to increase its contribution, agriculture ministers from across the country were once again unable to reach a deal on improvements to business risk management programs before the conclusion of their annual meeting on Friday. Improvements to AgriStability were the focus for the… Read More