Quick agreement to proposed changes needed by producers, they say.Ottawa—Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and her Ontario counterpart Ernie Hardeman are putting the pressure on reluctant colleagues to agree to proposed changes to the AgriStability component of the federal-provincial Business Risk Management (BRM) program for farmers.The changes were unveiled by Bibeau in late November and have been endorsed by most farm groups as steps in the right direction although more is required. While the Prairie agriculture ministers have balked at the proposals, they have not offered any ideas of their own.Bibeau and Hardeman, co-chairs of the fed-prov agriculture ministerial meetings, said in a joint statement that farmers continue to face financial challenges, which is why the swift endorsement and delivery of the enhanced AgriStability program is critical. While farmers “have shown their resiliency during COVID-19, many could still use the added help that these short-term changes could provide. We have an opportunity to act now, to offer them increased support. It's time to get it done.“The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged farmers in unprecedented ways. From labour to housing to processing issues, every aspect of farming has been impacted by the pandemic. Through it all, our farmers have pressed on and continued to work tirelessly to ensure that their workers are kept safe from the outbreak and that our grocery stores remain stocked with safe, nutritious, Canadian food,” they said.The AgriStability changes include the removal of the reference margin limit as well as an increase of the compensation rate from 70 per cent to 80 per cent, they said. “Taken together this would result in a 50 per cent increase, around $170 million per year, in direct support to farmers who need it the most. In order for these changes to be put in place, we need the support of a large majority of provinces and territories soon.”Speedy support for the changes “is key to ensuring the enhanced supports can be applied retroactively to 2020, something we know farmers across the country have been asking for. Since the federal government has confirmed its 60 per cent contribution, it rests with the undeclared provinces and territories to come forward with their 40 per cent share. We thank those provinces who have already confirmed their participation and hope to hear from those others soon.”Farm groups have been seeking BRM changes for years and the governments have been consulting on improving the suite of BRM programs, Bibeau and Hardeman said. “We agree that fixing AgriStability is the priority. It needs to be simpler, fairer, more predictable and more generous. While the proposed changes to AgriStability may not be the perfect solution for all farmers or governments, they reflect a good start to achieving a national consensus and allow Canada's agriculture ministers to continue discussing enhancements to the program while still improving supports for farmers today.”The current BRM programs are up for renewal in 2023 and the ministers have committed to more long-term changes, they said.Markus Hearle, Chair of Grain farmers of Ontario, said, “We encourage provinces to step up and make improvements to the AgriStability program. We continue to push for changes that reflect our ask to remove the reference margin limits and increase the trigger for AgriStability to 85 per cent. It is vital that farmers can confidently go through this uncertain time investing in their businesses and growing food for Canadians in an environmentally responsible way.”Ontario, B.C., Quebec and P.E.I. have already boosted AgriStability for their farmers. The Canadian Federation of Agriculture, Grain Growers of Canada, the Canadian Cattlemen's Association, the Canadian Pork Council and the Canadian Horticultural Council all welcomed Bibeau's announcement.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.