PUBLISHED BY MANITOBA BEEF PRODUCERS
JUNE 2025
Strike a pose! This cow-calf pair were photographed soaking up the spring sun. (Photo courtesy Julie W.)
AgriStability Changes Provide Better Protection for Producers If there has ever been a year for beef producers to consider enrolling in the AgriStability program, it’s this year, given the high-risk environment and uncertainty around the potential threat of 25 per cent tariffs on beef and livestock exports into the United States. The federal government has made changes to AgriStability to reflect some of these trade risks and make it more responsive, including increasing the compensation rate from 70 to 80 per cent (which is a permanent change, not just for this year). The government is also discussing increasing the compensation rate further to 90 per cent, and increasing the program cap from its current $3 million to $6 million for 2025, but none of those changes have been approved at time of writing. “For cow-calf producers, the change in compensation rate is quite meaningful,” says Tyler Fulton, Manitoba Beef Producers Director and President of the Canadian Cattle Association. “It’s a significant increase
that, if producers trigger a payment, will cover more of their loss. Margins are excellent in the cow-calf business today and even if producers don’t think they would trigger a payment this year, it’s an opportunity to start building their reference margin that will make it easier to trigger in future years if there is a downturn, or they are exposed to a big risk.” Easier to apply and cash options The deadline to register has also been extended to July 31, making it easier for producers to sign up, and they can also choose whether they want to opt to report on a cash or accrual basis. If they choose the cash option, they won’t need to provide the five years of inventory information that is required for the accrual option, but will just need to submit their allowable income and expenses for 2025 (although first-time participants will need to submit inventory information for 2025 at the end of the year). For some producers, though, the decision about whether to opt for the cash or accrual program option is not an easy one and takes some work to figure out.
“Everyone has to make that calculation and see if they would be better to go on a cash basis or not,” says Ben Hamm, a farm management specialist (forage and livestock) with Manitoba Agriculture. “In some cases, accruals help increase their reference margin, and for others if they decide go on a cash basis it could reduce their margins if they have had positive accrual adjustments in those reference years.” It’s definitely an easier decision for producers who are already enrolled in the program and have a few years of data to consult. “If they are in the program already, they receive a calculation of program benefits that spells out the answer for them,” Hamm says. “They can look at their cash margin on the five-year program view sheet and that will tell them what their cash margin is and what their accrual margin is. If it is higher on the cash, then certainly they could opt in for the cash option, but they need to take a look at it.” page 11
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BY ANGELA LOVELL