Agristability

[mb_rancher]

I was wondering if you had received a CAIS a damn small one if it was included as allowable income for the next year. If it is it will go against you for getting a payment in that year.

[kato]

It's not allowable. For revenue Canada yes, but for CAIS, no.

Wouldn't be a problem for us this year anyway since we've finally gotten ours processed and scored a big nothin. We started out with some pretty good reference margins, but they're dropping off the list now so I guess we're on our own.

This is the big problem with these programs that are based on past averages. They assume a good year will happen once in a while, but in the world of the Canadian cattle producer, it's been a five year slide. All you are promised is that you will do just as miserably as last year once the reference margins contain only bad years.

Now if they would stabilize our income at 2002 levels, then we'd be talking about some real help. Wait a minute, let me think about that again. If you were to ask an MP or a government worker if they'd be overjoyed to have their wages frozen at 2002 levels, would they be? I seriously doubt it.