October 10, 2018 - Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and PEI Department of Agriculture and Fisheries
Agriculture is essential to the rural way of life on Prince Edward Island. Governments remain committed to the continued expansion and success of the Prince Edward Island agricultural sector by ensuring producers have the tools they need to manage significant risks that threaten the viability of their farms.
Prince Edward Island experienced an abnormal amount of frost in June 2018, which caused widespread crop damage across Prince Edward Island. The damage has resulted in significant income challenges for a number of producers who need support during difficult times. To ensure producers have access to the support they need, the governments of Canada and Prince Edward Island have agreed to trigger the late participation mechanism under AgriStability for the 2018 program year.
The late participation mechanism, a new feature introduced under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, allows producers to join and benefit from the program after the enrolment deadline has passed in situations where there is a significant income decline in the farm sector and a gap in participation.
Quotes
"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. The new AgriStability late trigger mechanism under the Partnership is one tool, in addition to the suite of Business Risk Management programs, that PEI farmers can rely on to deal with farm income losses."
- Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
"Those in our agriculture community deserve all the support they can during challenging times." said Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Robert Henderson. "Agriculture plays a vital role in Prince Edward Island's economy and we are grateful to be able to work with our partners in the federal government to assist our farmers who have been affected by these frost conditions."
- Robert Henderson, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries
"The Federation has pushed hard with our commodity members seeking government assistance to help producers affected by the late frosts of June" said David Mol, PEIFA President. "We are pleased to see this announcement and see it as a great step in the right direction for producers."
- David Mol, President, PEI Federation of Agriculture
"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. Getting in on Agri-stability now could be a real help for some farmers. The PEI Wild Blueberry Growers' Association thanks Ministers Lawrence MacAulay and Robert Henderson for extending this safety net to help us out. We look forward to working with them on other issues of concern to our members."
- Rob MacLean, president, PEI Wild Blueberry Growers Association
Quick facts
- The Canadian Agricultural Partnership is a five-year, $3 billion investment by federal, provincial and territorial governments launched April 1, 2018 to strengthen the agriculture and agri-food sector.
- Under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, producers continue to have access to a robust suite of business risk management (BRM) programs to help manage significant risks that threaten the viability of their farm and are beyond their capacity to manage.
- AgriStability provides support when producers experience a large margin decline. AgriInvest provides cash flow to help producers manage income declines. AgriInsurance provides cost-shared insurance against natural hazards to reduce the financial impact of production or asset losses.
- More information on late participation for 2018 AgriStability will be mailed to Prince Edward Island producers in the coming weeks. For more information on AgriStability, producers can visit the program website or call toll-free at 1-855-251-9695.