Producers facing crop damage can benefit from program
Staff Writer
Farms.com
The Canadian and Prince Edward Island governments are showing their support for farmers affected by a June frost.
The weather caused crop damage and financial strain for producers and industry members.
The governments activated a late 2018 participation mechanism under AgriStability, an insurance program that assists farmers when margin declines occur, a Government of Canada
release said Wednesday.
“AgriStability is part of a suite of business risk management programs,” Michael Gill, AgriStability program supervisor, told Farms.com today. “There are (several) of (these) programs to address and cover various issues that can hit producers.”
The late participation mechanism is a recent addition to the
Canadian Agricultural Partnership. Governments can enact this exception when drastic income declines happen in the sector. In this case, P.E.I. producers can apply for AgriStability late because of the frost damage.
"The killing frost in June reduced yields for many wild blueberry growers at a time when we're already getting record low payments for our fruit,” said Rob MacLean, president of the P.E.I. Wild Blueberry Growers Association, in the release. “Getting in on AgriStability now could be a real help for some farmers.”
The application extension will help growers cope with profit loss, Lawrence MacAulay, minister of agriculture and agri-food, said in the release.
"Severe weather plays havoc for the agriculture sector and our Government is committed to supporting our farmers to ensure they are equipped to recovery quickly,” he said.
Information about late AgriStability participation will be mailed to P.E.I. growers in the coming weeks. For more information on AgriStability, producers can visit the program
website or call toll-free (1-855-251-9695).
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