Ontario farmers who want to make changes in their AgriStability file for a given year now have 18 months to do so, up from three.

Effective immediately — and retroactive to the 2007 program year — Ontario’s Agricorp will allow a farmer 18 months to request amendments on his or her AgriStability file.

That 18-month window starts at the date of the original calculation of program benefits (CPB), the ag funding agency said Friday.

That’s up from the previously allowed period of just 90 days under AgriStability’s predecessor, the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization (CAIS) program, to request such amendments.

Also, a farmer who wants to add new amendments to an already-revised CPB has either 18 months from the date of the original CPB or 90 days from the date of the revised CPB, whichever date comes later.

That’s also up from the 90-day window under CAIS to amend a revised CPB.

But a farmer still has just 90 days, after Agricorp has made its decision on a requested amendment, in which he or she can file an appeal of the agency’s decision.