Risk Management Program Cattle

Who can apply

To be eligible you must:

Produce livestock in at least one eligible category in Ontario

Enrol all your eligible production within a livestock category

Pay premium

Have a premises identification number

Have a farm business registration number (or an exemption)

Be able to demonstrate ownership

Be able to demonstrate ownership

For program purposes, ownership means the right of possession of a commodity and their associated risks. Agricorp considers legal ownership, price risk (such as fluctuating market prices or input costs) and production risk (such as mortality or health of the animal) in determining eligibility.

To determine whether you are eligible to enrol your livestock, Agricorp will ask for additional details about your business, including any custom feeding or private financing agreements you may have.

Custom feeding: There are many different types of custom feeding agreements. If you pay another person (e.g. price per pound of weight gain) to feed and house your livestock, Agricorp will need to confirm that you retain exposure to production and price risk before confirming that you are eligible to enrol the livestock.

Private financing: If another person receives legal title of your livestock as collateral for a loan or investment, and you compensate that person through pre-negotiated interest charges, commissions, or fees, you may have the price and production risk. Be sure to disclose the details of your agreement so that Agricorp can determine which person is eligible to enrol the livestock.

To remain eligible for RMP, pay your premium and submit your livestock sales reports by the program deadlines. Even if you had no sales during a reporting period, you must contact Agricorp and report zero sales. Failure to pay your premium or submit a sales report may result in the cancellation of your coverage.

Eligible cattle

All cattle that meet all of the following requirements are eligible.

Must be sold during the program year

Must be produced in Ontario and owned by you for a minimum of 120 consecutive days (this 120-day period can span multiple categories)

Must be 30 months of age or less

Cannot be used for breeding purposes (restriction for the backgrounder and feedlot categories only)

Cannot be enrolled and have sales reported under the RMP plan for veal cattle

Cattle may be enrolled in any of the following three production categories:

Cattle category | Live weights

Steer production | Heifer production

Cow-calf | Up to 550 lb. | Up to 500 lb.

Backgrounder | Over 550 – 900 lb. | Over 500 – 850 lb.

Feedlot | Over 900 – 1,500 lb. | Over 850 – 1,400 lb.

Cattle that fall outside of these weight ranges may still be enrolled; however, payments are based only on the maximum weights listed above. For cow-calf and backgrounder categories, any additional weight gain beyond the maximum will be covered in the next weight category, if you're enrolled.

For the cow-calf category:

Calves must weigh 350 pounds or more at time of sale to be eligible for payment

Calves must be raised from birth to be eligible for payment under the cow-calf category

Calves may be retained for future breeding purposes and still be eligible for payment under the cow-calf category only