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Hayeast 2012 Government Funding a Boost for Ontario Farmers

GUELPH, ON – HayEast 2012 received a major boost on November 3, 2012, thanks to a commitment from the Ontario and federal governments for funding to help transport donated hay from Western Canada to eastern Canadian farmers in need.

The governments committed $500,000, provided on a cost-shared basis. They will also match cash donations made to HayEast 2012 on a cost-shared basis up to $2.5 million. HayEast 2012 is a partnership involving farm organizations across Canada. The program is a follow-up to the HayWest program that saw thousands of eastern Canadian farmers send forages to Western Canada in 2002 to help alleviate the effects of that region’s drought. Now, farmers in some parts of Eastern Canada are the ones in need, and their Western Canadian counterparts are eager to reciprocate the good will.

“This is excellent news for the hundreds of farmers who have applied to receive hay through the HayEast 2012 program,” says Mark Wales, President, Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA). “This support from the Canadian and Ontario governments will go a long way in helping to sustain livestock farms through the winter that would otherwise have had to ship their animals.”

Ontario farmers affected by the summer’s drought have requested more than 60,000 bales of hay to sustain livestock through the winter. Farmers in Western Canada have donated thousands of bales of hay, which began arriving in Ontario in October 2012.

“Farmers in Western Canada have donated what they could to the program, but the challenge has been paying the significant transportation costs of shipping hay cross-country,” says Nial Kuyek, General Manager, Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) and HayEast 2012 organizer. “With this government support we’ll move as quickly as we can to get hay to farmers in need this month.”

“We have seen broad support for HayEast 2012, thanks to the farmers and ranchers who are donating hay, and also through significant financial corporate donations from Agrium and FCC,” say Lynn Jacobson, President of Wild Rose Agricultural Producers in Alberta. “We will continue to appeal to corporations, Western Canadian farmers and ranchers and individual citizens for donations to help us access that additional matching funds from our government partners.”

Individuals or businesses can make a donation at any Scotiabank location across Canada, or cheques can be made payable to “HayEast 2012.” Ontario farmers in need of forage must apply to the program for consideration. Program details are available at www.hayeast2012.com.

Source: OFA


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