Fiona Response Programs for Agriculture

Last week Premier Tim Houston announced a series of provincial Fiona response initiatives for agriculture. These two programs have now been launched:

Farm Emergency Response Grant Program
A one-time grant of $2,500 is being sent to registered farms in Central, Northern and Eastern Nova Scotia that experienced financial losses due to infrastructure or crop damage, livestock loss or extended power outages due to the hurricane. Funding from the $4-million Farm Emergency Response Grant Program is also available to registered farmers who experienced storm damage outside the most impacted regions. 

• For more information, please contact the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture’s Programs Branch at 1-866-844-4276.
•  If you are a producer outside of the designated impacted regions of Hants, Halifax, Pictou, Cumberland, Colchester, Guysborough, Antigonish and Cape Breton, and suffered direct damage from Hurricane Fiona, please contact Robin Mahoney with Programs at 1-866-844-4276.
• If you are an unregistered farm in the impacted areas, please contact Robin Mahoney at 1-866-844-4276.

 On-Farm Electrical Interruption Program
A one-time grant of $2,500 is being sent to registered farms in Central, Northern and Eastern Nova Scotia that experienced financial losses due to infrastructure or crop damage, livestock loss or extended power outages due to the hurricane. Funding from the $4-million Farm Emergency Response Grant Program is also available to registered farmers who experienced storm damage outside the most impacted regions. 

 This program is providing $500,000 in federal and provincial funding through the Canadian         Agricultural Partnership to offset costs to farm owners who installed a backup generator immediately before hurricane Fiona or during the extended power outages the storm caused. The program can over up to 100 per cent of the cost of purchasing and installing a generator for on-farm use. The Canadian Agricultural Partnership is a $3 billion, five-year (2018-2023) investment by federal, provincial, and territorial governments to strengthen and grow Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector. 

Additionally, there was the following announcement related to additional funding whose details have not yet been finalized:

Provincial Fiona Agricultural Program
Government is providing $6 million through the Provincial Fiona Agricultural Program to cover extraordinary operational costs experienced because of the storm. A simplified application process will be announced soon to ensure funding is dispersed quickly. Additional funding will also be available in the weeks and months ahead to help farmers with rebuilding costs that are not covered by other programs. An email will be sent out regarding this program once guidelines have been finalized, if you are interested in learning more about this program, please contact your local regional office to indicate as such.

If you have any questions regarding the programs above, please don't hesitate to reach out to your regional NSDA staff for more information. The contacts are as listed below:

Eastern Region Offices
Sydney	Gary Koziel	902-563-2003 or 902-565-8132	gary.koziel@novascotia.ca
	Marina Gillis	902-563-2001 or 902-578-0786	marina.gillis@novascotia.ca
Antigonish	Rhonda MacDougall	902-863-7501 or 902-631-2264	rhonda.macdougall@novascotia.ca
Bible Hill	Daniel Muir	902-893-6586 or 902-890-1787	daniel.muir@novascotia.ca
Western Region Offices
Kentville	Jeff Wentzell	902-824-0924	jeff.wentzell@novascotia.ca
	Colin Hirtle	902-599-0619	colin.hirtle@novascotia.ca
Lunenburg	Donald Cluney	902-634-7575 or 902-890-6322	donald.cluney@novascotia.ca
Cornwallis	Kevin Morin	902-223-8085	kevin.morin@novascotia.ca
Toll Free Line: 1-800-279-0825