Canadian Agricultural Skills Service (CASS) Funding for FGF participants

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Contents 

 1)    Rationale

 2)   Start with CASS

 3)   CASS eligibility

 4)   Evidence required to prove eligibility

 5)   You have Everdale’s backing.

 6)   The CASS application

 7)   Selecting an advisor, assessing your needs, writing a learning plan.

 8)   What CASS will cover

 9)   Everdale’s groundrules for FGFers who obtain CASS funding

10)  Associated files

1. Rationale:  FGF participants and Everdale share an interest in maximizing the contributions you obtain from government programs designed to help new farmers get started. You are trying to save money to acquire farm assets in the next year or two, so you need government support to pay for Everdale’s user-fees and those of other agencies providing you with training opportunities. Everdale needs a reliable source of income to cover the costs of our FGF courses, workshops, mentors and consultants. We are counting on most participants being eligible for CASS and paying for our services from it. This will permit us to serve those who could not otherwise afford to participate in FGF.

2. Start with CASS: The main form of government support for new farmers is the Renewal suite of programs.[1] They are cost-shared between the federal and provincial governments and administered by the province.[2] Canadian Agricultural Skills Service (CASS) is the natural starting point for most FGF members who are in the preparatory stages of launching your farm business. CASS has the most generous funding, the lowest threshold of eligibility, and the greatest flexibility in the kinds of support services it pays for. The other (FBA) services can be accessed by those who have already established farm businesses.

3. CASS eligibility:  CASS is designed to support the Individual Learning Plans of ‘beginning farmers’ (with less than 6 years of farming experience) and ‘established farmers’ (with more than 6 years). Here, we are exclusively concerned with beginning farmers.

You qualify as an individual: CASS funds the learning plans of individuals. You may be a sole proprietor, a partner in a farm business, or the spouse of the primary farmer in a family business. Whatever the form of the enterprise you have joined, begun, or plan to establish “in the near future”, you must qualify for CASS as an individual. Conversely, more than one person in a farm business can qualify for CASS.

First, we will list the eligibility criteria, and then (in pt. 4) the forms of evidence you must provide to prove you meet these standards.

Beginning farmers are eligible to receive CASS if:

1. they can “demonstrate their firm intention to become a farmer in the near future”;
2. they can demonstrate that the business they are planning to set up will be able to generate at least $10,000 in gross annual farm sales within six years (from the time of application);
3. they are not presently receiving Employment Insurance Part 2 benefits;
4. have been out of high school for at least two years;
5. they had an annual net family income of less than $45,000 in the preceding taxation year. [3]  

This income limit is graduated in relation to the benefits received:

• if net family income is less than $35,000, individuals who are CASS eligible receive up to $16,000 in approved training services.
• if net family income is between $35,000 and $40,000, individuals who are CASS eligible receive up to $12,000 in approved services.
• if net family income is between $40,000 and $45,000, individuals who are CASS eligible receive up to $8,000 in approved services.
• if net family income is more than $45,000, you can still qualify for the initial consultation that involves a needs assessment and the development of your Learning Plan, but you will have to pay for the subsequent training services yourself. 

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4. Evidence required to prove eligibility:

A. Intent to farm:

1) Proof that the applicant owns or controls productive agricultural assets to generate farm income. Control is demonstrated by legally binding rental agreement, lease agreement, or proof of ownership at time of application.

Note: Everdale is seeking to broaden this condition to include co-signed letters of agreement between the applicant and the manager or owner of an established farm enterprise that you are joining as a junior partner. We are awaiting official response on this issue and encourage anyone applying for CASS who lacks ownership, lease, or legally binding contracts to put your agreements in writing (a good practice in any case), sign and submit them as part of your CASS application. 

B. Capacity to generate farming income ($10,000 gross farm sales within six years) can be proven by submitting one of:

i)     farm budget forecast (i.e. a plan indicating annual gross farm sales of at least $10,000 within 6 years of start-up or

ii)     a financial statement for the previous year, if available or

iii)      an income tax return for the previous year showing farm income or

iv)     Documentation pertaining to farm loans (e.g. from a financial institution, Farm Credit Canada…)

v)     Documentation pertaining to other AAFC financial programs (CAIS, FIMCLA, APP, SCAP, production insurance.)

Note: The farm plan you are developing in the FGF business course should suffice to prove your capacity to generate future farm income. Please polish and submit this, and see if this fulfils the requirement.

C) Proof of net family income. Provide a copy of the Canada Revenue Agency “Notice of Assessment” for their most recent annual income tax return.

D) Unless you are a teenager, your statement of age on the application will normally suffice to demonstrate that you have been out of high school for at least two years.

5. You have Everdale’s backing. In turn, we need your support to become effective advocates for CASS applicants.

FGF staffers stand ready to advise and support your CASS application. We are working to ‘pry the door open’ on this program for those who are in the planning stage of starting or joining a farm business and do not yet own or control farm assets. We will document unwarranted refusals and take them up at a policy level with OMAFRA officials. To do this effectively, we need your cooperation in documenting the application process at every stage. We will note and help others take advantage of positive precedents. We will contest refusals that defeat the purpose for which CASS was established – to help new farmers with their own development as farmers.

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6. The CASS application is downloadable from http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/busdev/cass/cassform.pdf

It cannot be filled out on line; it must be mailed in or faxed. See contact information in footnote # 2.

The typical time interval between submitting an application and receiving a response is X weeks (as soon as we know this, we’ll fill it in!)

7. Selecting an advisor, assessing your needs, writing a learning plan.

If you qualify for CASS, the next step is to select a "Skills Assessment Advisor".  CASS officers will supply a roster of people in the applicant’s catchment area who are approved as Advisors. Pick one and set up a meeting. Together with your advisor, you assess your existing skills and learning needs in relation to your plans and goals for becoming a farmer. The skills and needs assessment result in the development of an Individual Learning Plan that will identify in detail the specific activities you intend to pursue in order to achieve your learning objectives.

Note: Everyone, regardless of income, who qualifies for CASS on all the other criteria can choose a Skills Assessment Advisor and partake in the assessment process and the creation of an Individual Learning Plan free of charge. Income eligibility qualifies you to receive subsequent payments for the activities itemized in your learning plan.

8. What CASS will cover. Courses, workshops, mentors, books and web-based educational materials are all eligible for CASS funding if they are congruent with your Individual Learning Plan. For beginning farmers, all such learning activities must focus on developing farm-related knowledge and skills for the purpose of enhancing direct farm income. The CASS guide mentions training in “farming practices, business management, accrual accounting, financing, human resource management, and other related skills.”

9. Everdale’s groundrules for FGFers who obtain CASS funding. This is your benefit. You are free to seek relevant services from any source and pay for them from CASS according to your specific farming goals. All we insist is that your fees for FGF services be promptly paid from CASS or by you personally. In other words, if you have CASS funding, we will not subsidize your fees for FGF services from other (non-government) sources. If you don’t, we may subsidize mentoring and other services, if we can afford to, from our Heifer (private foundation) funding.

10. Associated files (the name of our file copy) and websites:

- “CASSFaqs”  is at http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/busdev/cass/cass_faqs.htm

-  “CASSguidelines”  is at

http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/busdev/cass/cassguide.pdf

- “CASS application” is at http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/busdev/cass/cassform.pdf

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