According to a recent joint announcement by the federal and Ontario governments, horse breeders in certain areas may be eligible for compensation for the increased transportation costs of moving feed to their breeding herds this winter.
Government assistance is on the way for Ontario livestock producers facing severe forage shortages as a result of this summer’s dry growing conditions, announced federal Member of Parliament Cheryl Gallant (Renfrew- Nipissing -Pembroke) ,December 14th, on behalf of federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, and Member of Provincial Parliament Phil McNeely (Ottawa-Orléans) on behalf of Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Ted McMeekin.
The governments of Canada and Ontario will provide assistance through AgriRecovery to help livestock producers with transportation costs incurred in accessing feed for their breeding herds over winter.
“Forage shortages in Ontario have forced many livestock producers to find alternate sources of feed for their animals that must be transported from long distances at a significant cost,” said MP Gallant. “Our Government has delivered support through tax deferrals, Hay East and now through AgriRecovery to cover some of those extra costs producers will incur to transport feed or to move livestock to feed.”
“When I toured Ontario farms this summer, I saw first-hand the impact of the drought on crops and livestock,” said Minister McMeekin. “We responded quickly this summer to support livestock producers through advanced insurance payments and support for Hay East 2012. Now AgriRecovery completes the response. We’re all in this together.”
Drought conditions during the summer significantly reduced forage yields and damaged pastures for livestock producers in parts of Ontario.
The Ontario Forage and Livestock Transportation Assistance Initiative will provide up to $2.4 million to help affected livestock producers in designated drought areas of eastern and southwest Ontario cover a portion of the extraordinary costs of transporting feed to their breeding herds, or breeding herds to areas with surplus feed.
Available Compensation
The two components of the initiative are: ” Up to $0.14 per tonne, per kilometer to assist with the transportation of forage and feed, or ” Up to $0.075 per kilometer, per animal, to move animals to available feed
This initiative is being delivered under the AgriRecovery Framework, which allows governments to respond to unforeseen disasters that result in extraordinary recovery costs for producers.
Eligible Areas
Producers in the following counties or regional municipalities will be eligible for the AgriRecovery Initiative: Brant, Bruce, Grey, Haldimand-Norfolk, Halton, Hamilton, Huron, Lanark, Niagara, Ottawa, Oxford, Perth, Renfrew, Waterloo and Wellington.
Producers are encouraged to make full use of existing government programs – AgriInsurance, AgriStability and AgriInvest- designed to help them mitigate income and production losses.
This AgriRecovery initiative is in addition to the support governments have already provided through the HayEast initiative to help with the costs of transporting donated hay from Western Canada.
Further information regarding details of this initiative and how to apply can be obtained from Agricorp at www.agricorp.com. A summary of the 2012 AgriRecovery Assessment is available at www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/infores/releases/2012/121412-assess.htm.
