Programs and Services

CAIS Inventory Transition Initiative (CITI)

CITI is a one time federal government injection of $900 million into Canada's Agriculture and Agri-food industry. The funds will be delivered to producers by recalculating how the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization (CAIS) program values inventory change for the 2003, 2004, and 2005 CAIS program years.

Producers do not need to apply for a payment. CAIS information that producers have already submitted for 2003, 2004 and 2005 will be used to recalculate benefits using a new method of inventory valuation. If producers are entitled to more money after the recalculation, they will receive additional payments. Recalculations will be done beginning with the 2003 program, followed by 2004 and finally 2005.

Eligible producers began receiving payments in the fall of 2006.

NEW:

2006-12-05 - Fact Sheet ( PDF )
2006-07-06 - Industry Advisory

BACKGROUND

CAIS Inventory Transition Initiative (CITI) payment

Producer payments for CAIS will be recalculated for each of the 2003, 2004 and 2005 programs using a new method for valuing inventory change. If producers are entitled to more money after the recalculation, they will receive a CAIS Inventory Transition Initiative (CITI) payment. Payments will be issued as applications for each program year are recalculated.

Payments were delivered to producers beginning in fall 2006, and delivery of payments for all program years is expected to be complete by the summer of 2007. Producers do not need to apply. Federal and provincial CAIS administrations will deliver funds based on information which producers have already submitted for the program.

To ensure that payments do not exceed the $900 million spending cap, payments will be recalculated and producers will receive a percentage of the total payment as follows:

 

How the new inventory valuation method works

As a transitional measure to more responsive programs in 2007, the method for calculating inventory changes is being amended so that losses in inventory values caused by declining commodity prices are reflected in a producer's payment.

Currently, changes in inventory quantities (e.g. for livestock, grain, horticulture crops and other commodities) are valued using a year end price.

With the new inventory valuation method, an opening price (P1) and an end of year price (P2) will be used to value inventory. The decline or increase in value of inventory will be included in the calculation of a producer's production margin (i.e. farm income) for the year. This method will be applied to market commodities but will not be applied to productive assets such as breeding livestock.

If producers are entitled to more money after the recalculation, they will receive additional payments. Recalculations will be done beginning with the 2003 program, followed by 2004 and finally 2005.

Payments

Payments were delivered to producers beginning in fall 2006. CAIS applications for the 2005 program year will be recalculated and funds delivered in April 2007.

Government contributions under CITI are limited to an individual payment of $500,000 for each program year. A participant's total payment cannot exceed the overall CAIS payment cap of $3,000,000 or 70% of a program year margin decline, from CITI and CAIS for each program year.

Appeals

If producers have a current CAIS appeal related to inventory valuation, the Administration contacted them and asked if they wished to continue with their appeal.

Adjustments

Your CITI payment is calculated based on the information previously provided to the CAIS Administration to calculate your CAIS benefits. The CITI recalculation cannot be used as an opportunity to make adjustments to information on prior years. You may request an adjustment to the information reported on the CAIS program forms by submitting a written request to the CAIS administration within 90 days of the date indicated on your original Calculation of Program Benefits. Adjustments requested after this time will not result in any changes to CAIS and CITI payments for that program year.

Overpayments

On May 5, 2006, the federal government announced that the collection of CAIS overpayments would be deferred and no interest charged until January 1, 2007. The collection of CAIS overpayments has now resumed. However, the federal government recognizes that repaying overpayments may pose a challenge for some producers, and as a result, no interest will be charged on overpayments until January 1, 2008.

The deadlines to participate in CAIS 2003, 2004 and 2005 have passed.

There is no intent to re-open the CAIS program (for 2003,2004,2005) to new applicants as participation in each of the last three program years has been high.

For more information, please call 1-866-367-8506

 

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.