Agrologist: Canada’s grain farmers fare well under AgriStability

Most Canadian grain producers are faring well under AgriStability, the country’s financial safety net program for farmers, because it allows them to calculate a reference margin based on an average of the best three years out of the past five, consulting agrologist Kevin Hursh reported in a column for the Sakatoon (Canada) StarPhoenix. However, hog farmers and other livestock producers are not benefiting as much because a years-long downturn means that their reference margins are poor, he said.
Hursh also reported that farmers who produce both grain and livestock feel that they are getting short shrift, because AgriStability takes both production lines into account when making payments. Thus, a producer involved in both lines may receive fewer AgriStability payouts for weak livestock performance if grain performance is high that year.