Changes to the 2017 Farmland Health Incentive Program (FHIP) will create an even greater focus on managing water quality in the western and central Lake Erie basin. For the past two years, FHIP, part of the Great Lakes Agricultural Stewardship Initiative (GLASI), has focused on supporting and funding Ontario farmer stewardship efforts in an area… Read More
Category: Farm Programs
There’s funding out there, Ontairo farmers — but you’ve got to pay attention in order to get in, says Margaret May, regional program lead with the Ontario Soil & Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA). I caught up with May at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show (as is our tradition, it seems) to quickly recap four funding programs… Read More
Agriculture ministers from across Canada issued what they’re calling the “Calgary Statement” following their annual federal/provincial/territorial meeting, held in Alberta this week. The document outlines the priorities for the next agricultural policy framework, which will replace Growing Forward 2 in April 2018. “We got the framework in place, just how much dollars and how it… Read More
The federal agriculture minister has launched online consultations on what Growing Forward 3 — or whatever name the Liberals give the next agricultural policy framework — should look like. Growing Forward 2, which encompasses most federal and provincial programs for agricultural research, market development and business risk management, expires on April 1st, 2018. Lawrence MacAulay, on… Read More
Farms and ag businesses could be eligible for federal funding if they hire young people to do work that benefits the environment. Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lawrence MacAulay and Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna visited AAFC’s Central Experiment Farm in Ottawa on Monday to announce up to $1.9 million in funding over the… Read More
Canadian farm income hit a record high in 2015, and is expected to drop slightly in 2016, according to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The impact of a weaker Canadian dollar supporting domestic prices is evident throughout the department’s 2016 Canadian Agricultural Outlook, which was published on Friday. Here are some highlights: Net cash income on Canadian farms is estimated to… Read More
The Canadian Federation of Agriculture is hoping the arrival of new federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay will mark a change in the impact farmers have on public policy. MacAulay’s been on the job for less than a month, but so far Ron Bonnett likes what he sees. The CFA president received a call from the… Read More
The Great Lakes Agricultural Stewardship Initiative (GLASI) has new application rules, deadlines and funding levels to better help farmers take advantage of the program. GLASI is targeted to farmers in the Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair watersheds, and Lake Huron’s southeast shores watershed, to help implement Better Management Practices (BMPs) that reduce phosphorus loading to… Read More
The AgriInvest program was designed to help Canadian farmers manage small declines in income, but the Canadian Federation of Agriculture wants the government to recognize the benefits of the program are much broader in scope. As one of the four main business risk management programs under the five-year Growing Forward 2 framework, AgriInvest offers producers a savings… Read More
Farming is not just about producing crops or raising livestock. Much of what separates high performance farms from average to below-average farms is their ability to excel at everything from human resources management and looking after their team to understanding financial ratios and how to deal with the banker, says Rob Hannam, lead facilitator for… Read More
The Canadian Sheep Federation (CSF) will combine sheep and lamb production assurance systems under the nationally recognized Food Safe Farm Practices (FSFP) thanks to nearly $350,000 in funding under the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s AgriMarketing Program funded by Growing Forward 2. This support will allow the Canadian Sheep Federation to integrate the National Sheep Biosecurity… Read More
There was a time when it was hard for farmers to access credit — so much so that it spurred the creation of a farm credit corporation, now known as Farm Credit Canada. Those old enough to remember FCC’s creation are also old enough to recount the hardship that was farming in the early 1980s…. Read More
Yesterday, Ontario’s legislature passed Bill 40 — Agriculture Insurance Act, 2015 — which will allow for more types of agricultural products to be covered by the province’s production insurance program. Production insurance is part of the business risk management programs (RMP) designed to help farmers manage losses due to events beyond their control, such as weather, pests and… Read More
Cattle producers will have access to significantly higher borrowing limits under an enhanced Manitoba Livestock Associations Loan Guarantee (MLALG) program, according to Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development minster, Ron Kostyshyn. The borrowing limit for the MLALG program has increased to up to $8 million from $5 million for associations and up to $500,000 from… Read More
Ontario farmers who are accessing or have plans to access Growing Forward 2 funding have a new list of rules to learn. Of particular note, says Margaret May, regional program lead with Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA), intake dates have changed, as have the rules surrounding invoice dates, to highlight just a few… Read More