There is some hope emerging for farmers in the 19 identified drought disaster areas in Ontario, thanks to a program launched Sept. 12 at the Canadian Federation of Agriculture roundtable at the federal, provincial and territorial agriculture ministers’ meeting in Whitehorse.
Hay East is a program with an Ontario contingent co-chaired by Mennonite Disaster Service and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) and involves many other agricultural organizations across the country.
The program has a mandate to work to sustain livestock through the winter by delivering much-needed hay from western Canada to eastern Canadian farmers.
Hay East is a follow-up to the Hay West 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. Organizers say western Canadian farmers are anxious to reciprocate that good will.
Organizers are working on setting up a website and toll free phone number to coordinate donations from farmers with hay to spare, and those in need of support. Ontario farmers in need of forage must apply to the program for consideration.
Farmers in need can email forage@ofa.on.ca to be contacted about the application process once the program is finalized, or visit www.ofa.on.ca for a link to the program website once it is available.
The Federal/Ontario Agri-Recovery task team assessment of the drought impact is ongoing. Government officials aim to have their Agri-Recovery Assessment Report completed by the first week of October.
Wellington County is on the list of 19 areas recently named by the federal government as Prescribed Drought Regions.
Mennonite Disaster Service is a volunteer network through which various constituencies of the Anabaptist church can respond to those affected by disasters in Canada and the United States.
The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) is the largest general farm organization in Ontario, representing 37,000 farm families across the province.
