About the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization (CAIS) Program

• Support for Canada's Producers
• What is CAIS
• How does CAIS work?
• How do I participate?
• Who can participate?
• For More Information
• CAIS Program Brochure

Support for Canada's Producers

The CAIS program is in place to help producers protect their farm income from risks such as weather, diseases and low market prices.

What is CAIS?

CAIS is a joint federal/provincial/territorial Business Risk Management program. CAIS protects you against large and small drops in your farm income in a given year.

How does CAIS work?

You receive a payment from CAIS when your current year farm income is less than your average farm income from previous years. The amount of support you receive is based on the level of protection you choose.

Previously, producers had to set aside 22 per cent of the value of their reference margins in a CAIS account to have full protection under the program. Now producers will pay $4.50 per $1,000 of reference margin protected. The Administrative Cost Share (ACS) of $55.00 per account will remain in place and will be collected at the same time as the fee.

Producers still have the option to select a lower protection level and pay a lower fee. Producers who select lower levels of protection will receive payments for small declines in farm income but will not receive maximum benefits in the event of a larger decline in farm income.

The CAIS program is based on margins:

Production margin - your allowable income minus your allowable expenses in a given year.

Reference margin - your average production margin for three of the past five years (CAIS drops the year in which your production margin was lowest and the year in which it was highest).

Once your production margin is determined, adjustments are made for changes in your receivables, payables and inventory in the current year. These changes are made based on supplementary information you submit to the CAIS administration on the CAIS harmonized form. These adjustments help to estimate your potential income/loss for the year.

Should your production margin fall below your reference margin in a given year, you will receive program payments based on your selected level of protection. The greater your loss, the larger the government contribution.

How do I participate?

Where CAIS is delivered federally, the deadline to sign-up for the 2006 program was September 30, 2006. If you received an Options Notice, you were automatically enrolled for 2006 at the maximum protection level.

If you participated in CAIS for 2005:

• You should have received an Options notice from the CAIS Administration indicating you were automatically enrolled in the program at the maximum protection level. If you wanted a different protection level, or did not receive an Options Notice, you had until September 30, 2006 to contact the CAIS Administration at 1-866-367-8506.

You must take these additional steps to be eligible:

• Send in your fee payment to the CAIS Administration.
  
  
• Submit your 2006 CAIS forms. Once you're enrolled in the program, the CAIS forms will be sent to you automatically in early 2007.

Producers who have not participated in CAIS previously and wish to sign-up for 2007 can request an enrolment package by contacting us toll-free at 1-866-367-8506

Who can participate?

Individuals, co-operatives and corporations can participate in CAIS. To be eligible, you must have:

• farmed for at least six straight months during the program year and reported your farming income (or loss) to Canada Revenue Agency for tax purposes; and
  
  
• completed (or attempted to complete) a production cycle during the program year.

The CAIS program is delivered in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Yukon by a federal administration.

In Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, and Prince Edward Island, the CAIS program is delivered provincially.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Mailing address:

The CAIS Program Administration
P.O. Box 3200 Station Main
Winnipeg, MB
R3C 5R7

Telephone toll free: 1 866 367-8506
Facsimile: 204-983-3947
Email: For general inquiries, please use our Feedback Form.

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: 2006-12-07		Important Notices
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