On March 22, the federal government announced changes to the AgriStability program to provide additional support to farmers for the 2025 program year.
The changes include increasing the compensation rate from 80% to 90% and doubling the current payment cap from $3 million to $6 million.
AgriStability is a cost-shared program, with the federal government providing 60% of funding and the provincial governments providing 40% funding. The OFA is now urging the Ontario government to also opt into the proposed program enhancements.
What this means for Ontario farmers
Under AgriStability, a payment is triggered when a producer’s margin in a given year falls below 70% of their five-year Olympic Average (which means the best and worst years are removed).
Until recently, producers would then receive 70 cents for every dollar that their program year margin fell below 70% of their five-year Olympic Average.
Several years ago, the compensation rate was increased to 80%, meaning producers now receive 80 cents for every dollar their five-year Olympic Average falls below that point. At the same time, the Reference Margin Limit, which made the program much more complicated and reduced the odds of producers triggering a payment, was removed.
The newest announcement increases the compensation rate to 90%, so producers would now receive 90 cents for every dollar their margin falls below the five-year Olympic Average. Additionally, the maximum payments any producer can receive under AgriStability is proposed to double from $3 million to $6 million.
As well, the federal government proposed to get payments out to producers faster by increasing interim payments and introducing ‘advanced’ payments under certain circumstances.
OFA position
Producers depend on the AgriStability program to provide support in the face of challenges beyond their control. These latest changes are a positive step that will provide additional resources to farmers during these challenging times.
OFA is urging the provincial government to also opt into these program enhancements. Provincial participation is essential to ensure Ontario producers have timely and adequate protection in the face of ongoing economic challenges, particularly as the threat of tariffs looms large.
The OFA’s primary ask for AgriStability has long been for a permanent return of the payment trigger level from 70% to 85%, and this remains unchanged.