Features Fruit Production
Cape Breton farmers to get federal aid

September 25, 2008, Iona, N.S. –
Ottawa has agreed to compensate some Cape Breton farmers who suffered
more than $1 million in losses after a record rainfall waterlogged
their fields this summer.

September 25, 2008, Iona, N.S. – Ottawa has agreed to compensate some Cape Breton farmers who suffered more than $1 million in losses after a record rainfall waterlogged their fields this summer.

Nova Scotia Agriculture Minister Brooke Taylor says the federal government has agreed to cover 75 per cent of the production losses for farmers in the Boularderie-area.

The farmers must be registered with AgriStability, a federal agricultural disaster relief program.

Taylor says the dollar amounts will vary depending on the size of production for each farm.

He says there will be no cap on the dollar figure that a farmer could receive.

Federal and provincial agriculture officials surveyed area farms in September to see the fields that were drenched by more than 200 millimetres of rain in August.

Taylor says he knows about 35 vegetable and fruit farmers who should qualify for compensation.