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Feds, Nova Scotia help strawberry producers

December 13, 2013, Kentville, NS – Strawberry producers in Nova Scotia whose fields were impacted by a virus complex will receive $2.3 million in assistance.

The industry-developed 2013 Canada-Nova Scotia Strawberry Assistance Initiative will provide up to $2.3 million to assist strawberry producers in Nova Scotia affected by a strawberry virus complex with the one-time extraordinary cost of removing and replacing plants to help manage the virus complex. Producers will be eligible for a payment depending on the production system in use on their farm. This payment will help to purchase new plants to replace those removed. Payments will be made once producers begin replanting their strawberry crops.

“Strawberry production in Nova Scotia accounts for seven per cent of Canada’s overall strawberry output and is a major source of nursery plants for the rest of Canada,” said MP for West Nova Greg Kerr. “This initiative will assist Nova Scotia’s producers manage the virus and get their businesses growing again.”

“The announcement is a step in the right direction,” said Dennis Boudreau, president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture. “There are substantial costs associated with the strawberry virus issue and we will continue to work with government to ensure programs meet the needs of the farm community.

This federal-provincial initiative is being delivered under the AgriRecovery Framework, which allows governments to respond to unforeseen disasters that result in extraordinary costs for producers and where assistance required is beyond what is available under existing programs. Producers are encouraged to make full use of existing government programs – AgriInsurance, AgriStability and AgriInvest – designed to help them mitigate income and production losses due to disaster events including disease.

Earlier this year, the province of Nova Scotia announced that it would cover the interest costs for advances under the federal Advance Payment Program for 2013 and 2014, making up to $400,000 available to producers interest-free under the program.

Further information regarding details of this AgriRecovery initiative and how to apply can be found at www.AgPal.ca.