Farm groups happy with Risk Management Program funding increase of $100 million
Farmers Forum staff
TORONTO — The Ontario government has boosted annual Risk Management Program funding by two-thirds over the next three years. The move came on the same day of a provincial election call and more than two years after farm organizations asked for the extra funds.
Jeff Harrison, Grain Farmers of Ontario Chair
The $100 million increase, announced on Jan. 28, will allocate $250 million annually to RMP by 2027, up from the current $150 million. The increase begins with a $30-million bump during the 2025 program year, up 20 % from 2024. But that doesn’t necessarily mean individual producers will collect a full 20 % more from RMP in 2025 than they otherwise would have prior to the funding boost.
“Although this enhancement allows for up to 20% more support for the program, it is challenging to determine the actual increase of the supports for each farmer, as each circumstance is unique,” Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness spokesperson Christa Roettele explained. “Farmers that are expecting RMP payments should anticipate increased support relative to the additional government funding, where applicable.”
Producer premiums will remain at 35 % of government funding.
The program helps grain, oilseed and livestock producers manage risks beyond their control, such as rising costs or declining market prices. When market prices drop below a certain level, farmers receive a payout based on their sales. Agricorp administers the program.
In November 2022, the Grain Farmers of Ontario, Beef Farmers of Ontario, Ontario Pork and two other groups wrote a letter asking the province to raise the RMP cap to $250 million because of shortfalls already affecting the program at that time. Beyond the 26-month wait for the announced increase, the phased-in timing of the rollout means those groups will have waited almost five years for complete fulfillment of their request.
Still, they were happy to get it.
“This is without a doubt the most important investment the province could make for our sector, and one that will serve to support the security of Ontario farms and Ontario food production for many years,” Beef Farmers of Ontario President Craig McLaughlin said.
Grain Farmers of Ontario Chair Jeff Harrison thanked the Ford government for “a necessary and welcome step in helping farmers plan for the coming years with confidence as we work to grow the food the whole province needs, to keep jobs in the province, and to contribute billions of dollars to the economy.”
The RMP was last increased in 2020, when the government raised the cap by $50 million. The latest increase comes as farmers felt the squeeze of lower commodity prices in 2024.
RMP is not to be confused with the headline-making $10 billion disaster funding aid recently approved by the U.S. Congress in support of American crop farmers, who are set to receive ad hoc support payments on a per-crop-acre basis.
Instead, RMP is an established program, works very differently and remains “considerably lower” than American support programs, a former GFO board member told Farmers Forum.
RMP is based on losses a farmer incurs on actual yields, not acreage, with payouts made in the fall and spring. Christa Roettele explained that RMP provides support if a crop’s market prices fall below the annual support level based on in-year market pricing and individual yields.
Farmers must be enrolled in production insurance to take part in RMP. The combination gives farmers coverage for production losses (through crop insurance) and additional dollars when market prices drop below a chosen support level based on the crop’s cost of production.
