Alberta Beef Producers applauds AgriStability enhancements in 2025 Federal Budget

Alberta Beef Producers (ABP) is welcoming the recent amendments to the AgriStability program announced in the 2025 federal budget, recognizing them as significant advancements for the province’s cattle industry.

The federal budget is allocating $109.2 million for the 2025-26 fiscal year to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada for the federal-provincial-territorial cost-shared AgriStability program. Key changes include increasing the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent, the inclusion of pasture-related feed costs as eligible expenses, and the confirmed increase to the payment cap per farm from $3 million to $6 million for 2025.

Together, these changes acknowledge and address previous program gaps, strengthening support for livestock operations as they navigate unique challenges such as market fluctuations, diverse operational needs, and rising costs.

“Thank you to Minister RJ Sigurdson and the team at Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation for bringing forward the proposal to amend AgriStability, and thanks to Minister Heath MacDonald for endorsing the suggested improvements,” said ABP Chair Doug Roxburgh. “We appreciate the hard work and dedication of our government partners in achieving this significant step forward.”

While improving business risk management programming is a continual priority at ABP, the journey to these enhancements accelerated in response to the 2021 drought, which underscored the need for more timely and responsive agricultural recovery programs. Directed by producer resolutions, over the last four years ABP has strengthened our focus in conversations with government representatives to address these concerns.

“AgriStability is Canada’s main business risk management program for livestock, and thanks to ongoing collaboration, it is evolving to better reflect the realities in the grazing sector,” said Mark Lyseng, ABP’s Government Relations and Policy Lead. “I’m proud to have worked alongside the teams at Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation and Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) on these important updates. This is a positive step in a series of improvements that will strengthen the industry.”

In addition, ABP remains committed to advancing negotiations for a permanent increase to the payment cap and advocating for improvements to eligible expenses, along with other program adjustments that will benefit producers.

In the meantime, producers are encouraged to contact their local AFSC offices to understand how these changes may impact their operations and decision-making processes.

For all media inquiries, please contact:

Debra Murphy
Phone: 403-451-1176
Email: debram@albertabeef.org

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