The new rules will include value sharing clauses to be negotiated by every product sector, and give farmers the right to ask for a written contract for the first time (unless trading with SMEs); Simpler risk management tools to help farmers, including a sector-specific income stabilisation tool and improvements to insurance schemes that will allow compensation of up to 70% for farmers whose production or income is cut by at least 20%; Clearer rules governing intervention in markets, allowing the Commission to act rapidly to address market failures without having to use public intervention or private storage measures; Greater flexibili ...[+++]ty for Member States to support specific sectors of economic, social or environmental importance through voluntary coupled support, even when these sectors are not in crisis; Clearer rules on support for farmers, notably through more flexibility on the definition of active farmers and stronger incentives for young farmers, with an increase in additional payments from 25% to 50% and guaranteeing all young farmers the right to the full five-year allowance for these payments, regardless of when they apply for them within their first five years of their setting-up; Improved environmental measures including simpler rules on crop diversification and the addition of three new types of ecological focus area focused on nitrogen-fixing crops, giving farmers and national authorities more options to suit their particular circumstances.

Adding to what I commented on a few minutes ago, the government increased interest free loans for farmers this year two and a half times what they were last year, up to $50,000 per farmer.

When the provinces put in their portion it will total $2.66 billion in income support to farmers this year. This goes along with the announcement last week that farmers will be able to borrow up to $50,000 interest free to help put their crop in the ground this year.

By allowing any individual, be they shipper or farmer, to file a level of service complaint with the CTA, this amendment acknowledges that damages often extend beyond the shipper, as evidenced in the estimated $2 billion in losses to Western Canadian grain farmers this year alone.

In recognition of the needs of farmers now, we are announcing an immediate $1 billion additional investment to assist farmers this year.

That is the day our government announced $1 billion in aid under the Farm Income Payment Program in order to ease cashflow pressures on farmers in Canada. This new measure is in addition to the federal, provincial and territorial programs currently in place to help the agriculture sector, which paid out a record $4.9 billion in aid to our farmers last year.