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NEWS RELEASE |
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| December 6, 2007 | For
Immediate Release |
PRODUCER DEADLINE FOR NEW MARGIN-BASED PROGRAM FAST APPROACHING
AgriStability
& AgriInvest, to replace coverage previously provided under CAIS
OTTAWA – With the end of 2007 less than a month away, so too is the deadline for enrolling in AgriStability, a component of Growing Forward, which is the new policy framework for Canada’s agriculture, agri-food and agri-based products industry.
“I would like to remind farmers across my constituency that the deadline for enrolling and submitting the required fee is December 31, 2007,” said Yorkton-Melville Member of Parliament Garry Breitkreuz. “Participants of CAIS in 2006 will have automatically received enrolment notices. Those who were not CAIS participants in 2006 must call 1-866-367-8506 to receive their enrolment package.
“AgriStability, along with AgriInvest, AgriRecovery and AgriInsurance were announced in June and form a new suite of business risk management programs for farmers,” said Breitkreuz. “Growing Forward is an agriculture plan for Canada, and underscores the federal-provincial-territorial agreement to replace CAIS.”
AgriStability, together with AgriInvest, will replace the coverage previously provided under the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization (CAIS) program. You receive an AgriStability payment when your current year program margin falls below 85% of your reference margin.
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Program margin is your allowable income minus your allowable expenses in a given year, with adjustments for changes in receivables, payables and inventory. These adjustments are made based on information you submit on the AgriStability harmonized form.
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Reference margin is your average program margin for three of the past five years (the lowest and highest margins are dropped from the calculation).
“Our government made a promise to Canadian farmers and we have kept that promise,” said Breitkreuz. “With the cooperation of the provinces and territories, we remain committed to replacing CAIS with programs that are simpler, more predictable and bankable.”
Producers
who miss the December 31, 2007 deadline will have until the final deadline
of April 30, 2008 to pay their fee. However, they will have a 20 per
cent penalty added to the fee. Producers who do not pay the fee by the
final deadline will be ineligible to participate in AgriStability for
the 2007 program year. Outstanding fee and fee penalties not paid by
April 30, 2008 will be recovered from future program payments.
If you receive an AgriStability Enrolment Notice and decide not to participate
for 2007, you must inform the administration by December 31, 2007. If
you do not inform the administration, your fee and penalty will be considered
outstanding and applied to future program years.
“I am urging producers to take advantage of the programs designed
to assist the agriculture industry,” said Breitkreuz.
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