Farmers can sign up until June 30 without penalty
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Canadian farmers have more time to decide whether to enroll in AgriStability.
Producers have until June 30 to enroll in the business risk management program without penalty, the federal, territorial and provincial governments announced on April 28.
The previous deadline was April 30. And the penalty for late enrollment is 20 per cent of the enrollment fee.
The extension will help farmers manage the effects of avian flu, increased input costs and other challenges.
In the last five years, Saskatchewan producers have received $435 million in AgriStability support.
“Producers cannot control every risk impacting their operation, but they can control how they prepare for them,” David Marit, Saskatchewan’s minister of agriculture, said in a statement. “The uncertainty of this year’s growing season reinforces the importance of our business risk management programs. This deadline extension gives producers additional time to customize their risk management package for their operations.”
In B.C., more than 2,200 farmers signed up for AgriStability in 2021.
Lana Popham, the province’s minister of agriculture, is encouraging producers to sign up, especially given some of the climate challenges experienced in B.C. communities.
“Recognizing the hardships faced over the past year and the likelihood that we’ll continue to see climate-related impacts and disruptions, we are urging eligible famers and producers to sign up so they can have peace of mind that they’ll have financial assistance if needed,” she said in a statement