Print ready copy in PDF format
Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization (CAIS) Program
Guide to the 2005 CAIS Interim Application
© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2005
Cat. no. A120-2/2005E-HTML
ISBN 0-662-38826-7
Table of Contents
- INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANT INFORMATION
- COMPLETING THE APPLICATION
- BASKET GUIDE
Introduction and Important Information
Introduction
This guide explains how the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization (CAIS) Interim Payment works, and provides instructions on how to complete the enclosed application form. It does not contain all program rules or participation requirements. For more detailed information on CAIS, please refer to the CAIS Program Handbook or visit the CAIS website at www.agr.gc.ca/caisprogram.
About the Interim Application
The CAIS program is designed to help producers protect their farming operations from both small and large drops in income. The Interim Application is for producers who wish to receive 2005 program year assistance earlier than normally available. As a program participant, you cannot receive your full CAIS payment until your 2005 program year is complete. However, by using the Interim Application, you can estimate your 2005 income and receive a portion of this payment early. If your estimated income (program year margin) declines by 15% or more relative to your reference margin, you may be eligible for an interim payment from CAIS.
Am I Eligible?
To be eligible to receive assistance through the Interim Application, you must (in the 2005 program year):
- have completed a minimum of six consecutive months of farming activity;
- have completed a production cycle; and
- and be farming in Canada and reporting farming income as an individual, a corporation/ co-operative, or a trust/communal organization to Canada Revenue Agency.
If you are a Status Indian who is farming on a reserve in Canada and do not file tax returns, you are eligible for CAIS provided you submit information concerning your income and expenses that you would have otherwise reported for tax purposes for program and reference years.
Requirements 1) and 2) may be waived if, in the opinion of the Administration, they could not be completed for reasons beyond your control, and enough information exists to make a reasonable estimate of your income.
To be eligible for coverage, you must respond to your 2005 Options Notice by selecting a protection level for the 2005 program year. If you have not received a 2005 Options Notice at the time of completing your 2005 Interim Application, please contact the CAIS Administration.
For more information on CAIS eligibility criteria, please refer to Section 3.1 of the CAIS Program Handbook.
How Do I Apply?
Complete and submit your CAIS Interim Application and all required supporting documents to the Administration by March 31, 2006.
- If you are involved in multiple farming operations, you must complete
an application for each operation and assign a number to each operation
(all applications
should be submitted together).
- Partners are eligible to apply to the program as individuals. If
you farm as a partnership, each partner who wishes to apply must submit
separate forms reporting 100% of the
partnership's income and expenses. The Administration will calculate the government
contributions to each partner based on their respective share of the partnership.
- Applicants with a non-calendar fiscal year end - Attach a copy of your 2004 Statement of Farming Activities as filed for tax purposes.
Submit Interim Applications to:
CAIS Program Administration
P. O. Box 3200 Station Main
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3C 5R7
You must also submit copies of your Statements of Farming Activities as reported to Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for any of the fiscal years from 2000 through 2004 to the CAIS Program Administration, unless this information was previously provided to the Net Income Stabilization Account (NISA) program and/or the CAIS program. If you were not required to report farming income or loss to CRA in one or more of the three years previous to your 2005 fiscal year, you must complete the 2005 column of Table 1: Production Indicators and submit it with your application.
Important Notes
- The 2005 CAIS Interim Application is an optional application. You
do not have to apply for a 2005 Interim payment to participate in CAIS
for 2005. However, if you receive a 2005 CAIS Interim payment, you
are required to submit a final 2005 CAIS Supplementary form.
- As regular requirements of CAIS participation for 2005, you must
1) select a protection level by May 31, 2005 and 2) open a program
account at a participating financial institution and make the required
deposit by December 31, 2006.
- Because an Interim Payment is based on an estimate of your income,
it is possible that you will receive more or less money than you are
entitled to. If your interim payment is more than you are entitled
to, you are required to repay the difference. If it is less than you
are entitled to, you will receive the difference at the time that your
final information is processed.
- Verifiable adjustments to information submitted on the Interim Application
will be accepted for up to 30 days from the date of payment notification
or up to the Interim Application deadline,
whichever is later.
- You cannot request a review (appeal) of your Interim Application. You can request a review of your final 2005 CAIS Program application once it has been processed.
For further assistance, contact the CAIS toll-free information line at 1-866-367-8506 (English and French), or visit the CAIS Web site at www.agr.gc.ca/caisprogram.
Interim Payment Calculation
Under the CAIS program, the further your program year margin drops relative to your reference year margin, the greater the share of the decline that government contributions will address.
After your Interim Application has been processed, a Calculation of Interim Benefits will be sent to you detailing your estimated program year margin and estimated reference margin. Subject to program criteria and eligibility, if your estimated program year margin has declined by 15% or more relative to your estimated reference margin (that is, a margin decline into Tier 2), the Calculation of Interim Benefits will indicate the amount of producer and government contributions you will receive through an Interim payment. If your estimated program year margin declines by less than 15% relative to your estimated reference margin, no government contributions will be available to you through the Interim Application.
Should you qualify for an Interim Payment, you will receive an advance on government contributions of up to 50% of estimated final contributions. If you have already deposited the necessary funds for participation in the 2005 CAIS program at the time your 2005 Interim is processed, you will be eligible to withdraw up to 100% of your deposited amount (producer contributions), depending on the amount of your triggered withdrawal. You will have 100% of the triggered Interim amount (of producer contributions) subtracted from your deposit requirement. This will effectively reduce the funds you are required to deposit by the deposit deadline of March 31, 2006.
Some or all of your funds in your CAIS program account will be available for withdrawal when your final information is processed for the 2005 program year, if your program year margin has declined relative to your reference margin. For more information on managing your CAIS program account please refer to the CAIS Program Handbook or visit the CAIS program website at www.agr.gc.ca/caisprogram.
All applicants qualifying for an Interim Payment must complete and submit the required 2005 CAIS Supplementary Form by the established deadline(s). Applicants not meeting this requirement will be required to repay the benefits received through the Interim Application.
The amount of your Interim Payment is determined by the amount of the
decline of your estimated program year margin relative to your estimated
reference margin. The further the decline, the larger the amount of government
contributions. 
Tier 3: For a margin decline into Tier 3, you will receive government contributions for 80 percent of the decline within that tier.
Tier 2: After covering the portion of the margin decline that falls within Tier 3, you will receive government contributions for 70 percent of the decline within Tier 2.
Tier 1: After covering the portion of the margin decline that falls within Tiers 2 and 3, you will receive government contributions for 50 percent of the decline within Tier 1.
Negative Margin: For a margin decline into the negative, you will receive government contributions for 60 percent of the decline in the negative. CAIS participants who, where possible, did not insure the majority of their crop acres through Production Insurance at a minimum level (70% for CAIS purposes) will not receive negative margin benefits through the Interim Application.
Step by Step Calculation of Interim Benefits
- Reference Margin - Historic Average
Allowable Income (average over reference period)
minus
Allowable Expenses (average over reference period)
equals
ESTIMATED REFERENCE MARGIN
- Program Year Margin - Current
Situation
* As indicated on Part 3 of the Interim Application Form (back to step 2)Projected Crop and Livestock Income
plus
Program Payments
equals
PROGRAM YEAR INCOME
Program Year Income
minus
Program Year Expenses (average over reference period)
minus
Significant Expense Increase Amount(s)*
equals
ESTIMATED PROGRAM YEAR MARGIN
- Estimated Margin Decline - Comparison
If your estimated margin decline has fallen 15% or more relative to your reference margin, proceed to step 4.Reference Margin
minus
Estimated Program Year Margin
equals
ESTIMATED MARGIN DECLINE (if any)
- Interim Payment
Government Contributions
Producer Contributions
Tier 3 Decline Amount (if any)
x 80%
x 20%
plus Tier 2 Decline Amount
x 70%
x 30%
plus Tier 1 Decline Amount
x 50%
x 50%
plus Negative Margin Amount (if any)
x 60%
N/A
equals TOTAL ESTIMATED
GOVERNMENT CONTRIBUTIONS
PRODUCER CONTRIBUTIONS
Total Estimated Contributions (Government Contributions) x 50% (Interim Payment Rate)
plus Total Estimated Contributions (Producer Contributions) x 100%
equals INTERIM PAYMENT
Completing the Application
I. Applicant Information
- Name and Address: your name and
the
address to which you want the payment sent.
If you have a partner(s), they must file a
separate application.
- Province of Main Farmstead: the province
where all or most of your farming income is
earned and in which you have selected a
protection level under CAIS.
- Contact Person: complete if you
want to
have another person act as a contact for this
application.
- Applicant Number: If you are an
Individual
applicant, provide your Social Insurance
Number. Corporate and co-operative applicants
must provide their Business Tax Number. Trusts
and communal organization applicants must
provide their Trust Taxation Number.
- Crop / Production Insurance: indicate
whether you produced/are producing
commodities insurable (regardless of whether
they have been insured) under Production Insurance in the 2005 program year,
whether
you are participating in Production Insurance,
and the applicable contract or identification
numbers. Only producers who have insured the
majority (more than half) of their insurable crop
acres at 70% or more are able to receive negative
margin benefits through the Interim Application.
- Partners: indicate the name, SIN/BN, and
percentage share of each partner involved in
the partnership.
II. Whole Farm Information
- Question (a) will assist the Administration in determining whether
your income and expense information needs to be combined with that
of
another farming operation which is part of the
same whole farm.
In some cases, the combining of operations that report separately for tax purposes is necessary under the CAIS "whole farm" approach. This approach ensures only actual income declines, and not financial accounting procedures, trigger a payment. Two or more operations may be combined under CAIS if, in the opinion of the Administration, they are related persons or entities and if they:
- are not legally, financially, or operationally independent of one another; or
- have engaged in transactions not at fair market value.
If you meet the above criteria you must check "yes" in response to question (a). Applicants who check "Yes" will be contacted by the Administration for details. Farm financial information for the party(s) they are combined with may be required.
For more information on the combining of operations, please refer to Section 6.7 of the CAIS Program Handbook.
Structural changes to a farming operation, as measured by an increase or decrease in farm acreage, the amount of livestock sold/produced, or by substantial shifts in the commodities produced, are accounted for in the calculation of a CAIS program payment. This is done to ensure that payments are reflective of an operation's program year productive capacity. Adjustments for structural change may be waived if it can be demonstrated that the change occurred as a direct result of a disaster.
If you have or expect to have made a structural change during your 2005 program year, you must check "yes" in response to question (b). Applicants who check "Yes" must complete Table 1: Production Indicators and submit it with their application.
For more information on structural changes, please refer to Section 6.6 of the CAIS Program Handbook.
III. Program Year Farming Activity
This section allows the Administration to determine the nature of your income decline, estimate your program year income, and ensure the calculations reflect significant increases in allowable program year expenses.
- Increased Expenses: if you have
experienced
a large increase in expenses, enter the total
estimated amount of the 2005 program year
expense (not just the amount of the increase) for
that item.
- Estimated Program Year Production
Cattle Fed (owned): the number of animal feed days (not the number of animals) you expect in your operation to feed during the 2005 program year, categorized by estimated weight at your year end or time of sale. Animal feed days for cattle weighing 900 pounds or less must be shown in "Feeder Cattle", while those for cattle weighing more than 900 pounds must be shown in "Finished Cattle".
Include animal feed days for the animals with an appreciable gain (200 lbs weight gain or 60 days on feed for cattle).
Do not include animal feed days for the following:- calves born in the 2005 program year that have been sold as calves or you expect to sell as calves (report these as Calves Born);
- calves held over from the previous year that have been sold as calves or you expect to sell as calves;
- breeding animals;
- culls.
NOTE: For the purposes of the 2005 CAIS Interim Application, a calf is considered an animal that has not been weaned or one that is sold at weaning. Feed days should be counted from the point at which it is weaned.
Example: Producer has 100 calves born in the spring, and weans them in September, and continues to feed them all until the end of December. This producer should report the 100 calves born, and also 9000 feed days of Feeder Cattle (90 days x 100 animals on feed).
Animal feed days within the current fiscal period, beginning the day the animal is acquired or post weaning and ending with the sale, are calculated as:
(Number of expected animals) x (Number of expected days each animal will be fed)
Cattle Fed (custom): report the total number of animal feed days (not the number of animals) for cattle that you expect in your operation to custom feed during in the 2005 program year. Animal feed days are calculated as shown above.
Calves Born: the total number of calves born (excluding deaths) and expected in the 2005 program year. Do not include calves held over from the previous year. Ensure you enter the average weaning weight for your calves.
Feeder Hogs (owned): the number of animal feed days (not the number of animals) you expect in your operation to feed during the 2005 program year, categorized by estimated weight at your year end or time of sale. Animal feed days for hogs weighing more than 50 pounds must be shown in "Finishers", while those for hogs weighing between 10 and 50 pounds must be shown in "Nursery Hogs".
Include animal feed days for the animals with an appreciable gain.
Do not include animal feed days for the following:- pigs born in the 2005 program year that have been sold as, or you expect to sell as, farrow pigs (report these as Hogs Born);
- pigs held over from the previous year that have been sold or you expect to sell as farrow pigs;
- breeding animals;
- culls.
Animal feed days within the current fiscal period, beginning the day the animal is acquired or post weaning and ending with the sale, are calculated as:
(Number of expected animals) x (Number of expected days each animal will be fed)
Hogs (Custom Fed): report the total number of animal feed days (not the number of animals) for hogs that you expect in your operation to custom feed during the 2005 program year. Animal feed days are calculated as shown above.
Hogs Born: the total number of expected births (excluding deaths) in the 2005 program year. Report births in either the Hogs, Farrowing or Farrow to Finish categories. Report a birth only once in either of these two categories. For farrowing operations, ensure you enter the average weaning weight.
Poultry: the number of kilograms produced (annual quota held), categorized by bird. If you were required to depopulate at the request of the CFIA, please provide your depopulation date.
Egg Production: dozens of eggs produced (annual quota held), categorized by use. Report egg production as either "Eggs for Consumption" or "Eggs for Hatching". If you were required to depopulate at the request of the CFIA, please provide your depopulation date.
Other Production: other estimated livestock production should be listed in as much detail as possible (for example, list "lambs born" or "wool produced" rather than just "sheep"). If you are a producer of purebred livestock, you must indicate in the description that the livestock is purebred in order to ensure the correct value is assigned to your 2005 program year production. For commodities not measured by number of head, report your yield according to the standard unit of measurement for the specific commodity (for example: PMU production should be reported on a per gram basis). Be sure to identify the type of unit.
Crop Description: Report the type and grade of crop that you harvested. Provide as much detail as possible in describing your crops (for example, specify "Wheat CWRS #1 (14.5%)", rather than just "Wheat"). Do not report production of feed for on-farm use; only feed produced for sale should be recorded as crop production for the purposes of the Interim Application.
# of Acres: Report the number of acres of this crop that were seeded in the program year. If you could not seed any part of your acres due to disaster circumstances, attach a written explanation of why you could not seed these acres, the number of acres affected, and your seeding intention. For commodities not measured by acres, report your yield according to the standard unit of measurement for the specific commodity. Be sure to identify the type of unit.
Estimated Yield/Acre: Estimate your total program year production for this crop, on a yield per acre basis (by bushels per acre or tonnes per acre). If you could not seed/harvest any acres, enter zero in this column and attach a sheet explaining why you could not seed/harvest, and the number of acres affected. For commodities not measured by bushels or tonnes, report according to the standard unit of measurement for the specific commodity. Be sure to identify the type of unit.
- Program Payments: Report any amounts received, or
that you expect to receive related to the 2005 program year. To avoid
duplication of
government support, the following will be included as income in the
calculation of any Interim payment: Production/Crop or Hail Insurance
payments, Transitional Industry Support Program (TISP) direct and general
payments for participants with a fiscal year beginning prior to March
1, 2004, and other program payments. If you have received payments
from any of the following programs, include them in the Other Program
Payments
line:
- Nova Scotia Modified BSE Recovery Program
- Manitoba Feeder Assistance Program
- Manitoba Slaughter Deficiency Program
- Manitoba Cull Cow Program
- Manitoba Drought Assistance Program
- Saskatchewan Herd Retention Program
- Saskatchewan Cull Animal Program
- B.C. Steer and Heifer Market Transition Program
- B.C. Negative Margin Insurance Pilot Program
- Feeder Calf Set-Aside Program (all provinces)
- Fed-Cattle Set-Aside Program (all provinces)
IV. Table 1: Production Indicators
Participants who answer "yes" to question b) under Whole Farm Information on the Interim application form, as well as participants who did not report farming income or loss to CRA in one or more of the previous three years, must complete Table 1 and submit it with their Interim application.
Section A: Seeded Acres
If you are a partner, report 100% of the acreage.
If you are a tenant in a crop share, report only your percentage share
of the acreage.
- Section A: Under each "basket" category, indicate the total number
of acres you seeded of crops that fall under that category in each
year.
Refer to the tables on the following pages to determine which crops
fall under each basket in your province. For crops that are not part
of a
basket, list each separately under the Other Crops category and indicate
the number of acres that you seeded with each crop in each year.
Note: For multi-year crops, where applicable, include details of factors that affect productivity, including age, density, and variety. Provide for each year the number of acres that were unseedable and summerfallowed (see below for definition of unseedable and summerfallow).
Unseedable - refers to acres in that year that were too wet or too dry to seed.
Summerfallow - refers to acres in that year that were unseeded for summerfallow purposes.
Section B: Livestock Information
If you are a partner, report 100% of
the production. If you are in a livestock share agreement, report only
your percentage share of the production.
- Cattle and Hogs: Provide a breakdown of the number of females that have
birthed for this operation within each year. For feeder operations (excluding
custom feeders), enter the number of animals fed. The number of animals
fed is made up of all animals which have had an appreciable weight gain;
excluding all breeding animals, culls, and animals which have not been
weaned. For cattle an appreciable contribution is defined as 90 kg (200
lbs) weight gain or a minimum of 60 days on feed.
For example:
If you fed and sold 50 feeder cattle (under 900 lbs) in the first 7 months of the year, and have fed another 50 feeder cattle (under 900 lbs) for the last 5 months you should record 100 feeder cattle (under 900 lbs).
Custom feeders, enter the number of animal feed days.
For supply-managed commodities, enter the amount of quota/ contract held in each year. For other livestock that are intended for meat, enter the number of animal sales. For other livestock intended for breeding, enter the number of females that have birthed. For livestock that produces other products, enter the number of producing animals ( e.g. honey bees: enter the # of hives; elk velvet: # of bulls producing).
Basket Guide
The CAIS program is delivered in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and Yukon by the federal government. The information on this website refers to deadlines and other delivery details for these provinces only.
If you are in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, or Prince Edward Island, the CAIS program is delivered provincially. Please click on your respective province to be linked to the provincial administration.
 |
||
| Date Modified: 2006-02-27 |  |
Important Notices |
| [ Français | Contact
Us | Help | Search | Canada
Site ]
[ AAFC Online | Links | Newsroom | What's New | Site Index ] [ Framework Agreements | Background | Partners | Feedback ] |
||