NEWS RELEASE
January 30, 2008	For Immediate Release

AgriINVEST, AgriSTABILITY INFORMATION SESSIONS
TO BE HELD IN YORKTON-MELVILLE
AgriStability & AgriInvest, to replace coverage previously provided under CAIS

OTTAWA – Garry Breitkreuz, Member of Parliament for Yorkton-Melville, would like to ensure all producers are aware of the AgriInvest & AgriStability information sessions coming up in various locations throughout the area.

“I encourage farmers from across my constituency to take notice of the dates and locations of these sessions,” said Breitkreuz. “These sessions have been established as a means for producers to better understand the changes that are being made as this government proceeds with replacing CAIS.”

AgriStability, along with AgriInvest, AgriRecovery and AgriInsurance were announced in June 2007 and form a new suite of business risk management programs for farmers. 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. An AgriStability payment is received when a producer’s current year program margin falls below 85% of his/her reference margin. AgriInvest replaces the coverage for the top 15 per cent of margin decline covered previously by CAIS. Farmers have the flexibility to use the funds for risk mitigation and other investments. AgriInvest is bankable, as farmers can easily predict the government contribution to their account each year.

Most farmers will have automatically received a notice for AgriInvest Kickstart with the funds available to them. Farmers can easily withdraw kickstart funds from their accounts by responding to the notice.

Those who did not receive an AgriInvest notice can apply by completing the application form which is available on line or by calling 1-866-367-8506. The deadline to apply for AgriInvest is March 31, 2008.

Producers who missed the December 31, 2007 AgriStability 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.

Information sessions within or close to producers in Yorkton-Melville will be held in:

Monday, Feb. 4, 2008	7-9 p.m.	Moosomin	Community Hall
Monday, Feb. 11, 2008	7-9 p.m.	Preeceville	Recreation Centre
Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2008	7-9 p.m.	Yorkton	Comfort Inn & Suites
Monday, Feb. 25, 2008	7-9 p.m.	Tisdale	Civic Centre
Monday, March 3, 2008	7-9 p.m.	Raymore	Elks Hall

Individual Producer Appointments are also being scheduled during the day on these dates and at the listed communities. Appointments are being scheduled on a first-come first-served basis and can be made by calling 1-866-367-8506. Individual Producer Appointments will be held at the listed community’s Crop Insurance Customer Service office.

“With the cooperation of the provinces and territories, we remain committed to replacing CAIS with programs that are simpler, more predictable and bankable,” said Breitkreuz. “I urge producers to take advantage of these new programs and attend an information session in your area.”

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