OMAFRA has increased its monitoring of overpayments as part of its response to a 2017 Auditor General’s report that criticized farm support programs. Interim payments – faster flowing payments to help farmers – and their accuracy, were at the core of the Auditor General’s concerns. After the 2017 audit, OMAFRA and Agricorp (which administers many […] Read more
Tag Archives agristability — page 5
How OMAFRA methods changed after critical report
An Auditor General’s report in 2017 looked for changes in disaster funding and interim payment
Lewis’s success could be win for producers
The defeated but rising Conservative candidate had the most detailed agriculture platform
Glacier FarmMedia – The biggest win for Canadian producers arising from the Conservative party leadership race may come from one of the contest’s losers. Erin O’Toole won the leadership bid, beating out his chief rival, Peter MacKay. During the campaign, the two offered nearly identical and fairly mundane platforms for the agricultural sector. Why it […] Read more
Hog farmers face prolonged pain as pandemic gives way to glut
Canadian Pork Council takes new tack on AgriStability reform
Winnipeg | Reuters — North America’s hog farmers face prolonged pain beyond the COVID-19 pandemic that has interrupted packing plants , as a pig glut in the U.S. holds prices low and pressures producers to downsize. Many North American hogs had nowhere to go in spring as slaughter plants suspended production due to workers becoming […] Read more
Opinion: Bibeau’s value largely rests on ability to reform BRMs
The long-term value current federal Minister of Agriculture Marie Claude Bibeau will provide to farmers hinges largely on her ability to reform business risk management programming. That is a difficult and expensive task. Recall the current plan to reform business risk management (BRM) programs was made way back in 2017, at the same time Ottawa […] Read more
No timeline yet set for BRM reforms
Changes put on hold along with ministers' meeting
Ottawa — Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has confirmed any reforms to business risk management (BRM) programs are being delayed. That confirmation came during a wide-ranging media availability Bibeau held Tuesday. In March, Tom Rosser, an assistant deputy minister at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), said the government is looking at a number of options […] Read more
COVID-19 aid ‘falls short,’ farm groups warn
Aid package includes AgriRecovery for cattle, hog sectors
Ottawa — Despite Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saying more money will be provided if needed, the agriculture sector continues to criticize Ottawa’s $252 million in COVID-19-related financial aid offered to producers and processors. “If we have to add more, we will,” said Trudeau, after announcing new funding and programming. The federal government is offering an […] Read more
CFA seeks $2.6 billion in support for producers
Federal officials sought specific numbers from ag industry
Ottawa — Canada’s agriculture industry is seeking an initial $2.6 billion in COVID-19-related emergency relief funding from the federal government. Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) officials put in the ask to the federal government on Thursday. According to second vice-president Chris van den Heuvel, federal officials asked the CFA “to go and put hard numbers […] Read more
Pork sector’s calls for aid heard, not yet answered
Federal government says it's examining "all options"
Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau’s office said late last week the government is working “around the clock” to respond to the pandemic’s impact on farmers and agri-food businesses. But there was no commitment to the direct support Canadian pork industry officials say is now necessary to carry the sector through a crisis which has led […] Read more
P.E.I. plans AgriStability top-up, AgriInsurance discount
Province also pledges potato storage funding
Prince Edward Island’s response to COVID-19 includes plans to pump up its farmers’ coverage level under the federal/provincial AgriStability income stabilization program. The P.E.I. government on Thursday announced a support package for farmers including $8.8 million over two years in additional business risk management (BRM) program funds. That includes paying the provincial portion of the […] Read more
Saskatchewan to bump up AgriStability interim payouts
Allowable percentage of final benefit raised
Saskatchewan farmers hoping to boost cash flow with an AgriStability interim payment can now apply to get up to three-quarters of their final payment for 2020. The Saskatchewan and federal governments announced an agreement Friday to increase the 2020 AgriStability interim benefit payment percentage to 75 per cent for producers in that province, up from […] Read more
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