Call came as Commons agriculture committee worked on a report urging BRM upgrades.OTTAWA—It's time for the federal and agriculture ministers to stop dithering on long-overdue improvements to the Business Risk Management (BRM) programs, particularly AgriStability, says the AGgrowth Coalition of major farm organizations.The ministers need “to come to a consensus and finally make the much-needed improvements,” the Coalition said in an Oct. 21 statement. Most important is restoring AgiStability coverage of farm incomes losses to start at 85 per cent of historical reference margins.The Coalition's request came as the Commons agriculture committee met behind closed doors to try to work out a plan for completing its study of BRM changes and report to Parliament. The committee was close to reporting when the previous session of Parliament was adjourned in September.“There has likely never been a single issue or policy where Canadian farm organizations, across all commodities, have been so aligned,” said Markus Haerle, a Co-Chair of the Coalition.Last December, the Coalition expressed extreme disappointment in a lack of action coming out of a special federal-provincial agriculture ministers in Ottawa, added fellow Co-Chair Chris van de Heuvel. “Now, 10 months later we still have not seen any improvements to AgriStability.”The ministers were supposed to meet this fall to discuss the issue but plans remain up in the air.Members of the Coalition have made dozens of representations to federal and provincial agriculture ministers and agencies during 2020, said Jeff Nielsen, another Coalition Co-Chair. “The time for dialogue, consultation and study has long passed, it is time that our federal and provincial Ministers of Agriculture take action. Farmers have waited long enough and cannot afford continued uncertainty. We need the changes to be made in 2020.“We now expect elected leaders to do the same to reach a final constructive resolution, and if necessary, proceed with a collation of provinces willing to make improvements to AgriStability – returning the trigger to 85 per cent and removing the reference margin limit.”The Coalition is comprised of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, Canadian Canola Growers Association, Grain Growers of Canada, Grain Farmers of Ontario, the National Sheep Network, and the Canadian Horticultural Council.Alex Binkley is a freelance journalist and writes for domestic and international publications about agriculture, food and transportation issues. He's also the author of two science fiction novels with more in the works.