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Starting in 2019, Ontario growers will have access to a tiered salvage benefit when dealing with deoxynivalenol (DON) in the corn crop.
Announced via the provincial government, the new tiered salvage benefit will more “accurately reflect the additional costs associated with harvesting and handling corn affected by DON and help producers trying to find a market for it.”
Funding for the benefit is provided by the federal-provincial Canadian Agricultural Partnership, and will begin in the 2019 crop year for eligible corn farmers. The salvage benefit is expanded to include organic corn production as well.
Agricorp will administer the corn salvage benefit initiative in Ontario.
This new corn salvage is in addition to previously announced government responses, including:
– establishing a partnership with the Grain Farmers of Ontario on proposed research into such areas as developing best management practices for in-season mitigation of DON and for effectively managing the storage of high-DON corn;
– the provincial government extending its Commodity Loan Guarantee Program loan repayment deadline, giving producers affected by DON additional time to market their corn. The Ontario government also increased the maximum guaranteed loan limit, on a pilot basis, from $120 million to $200 million for the 2019 and 2020 program years; and
– launching a cost-share program through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership to provide special assistance to farmers experiencing revenue loss over testing for DON.
In addition to the supports to help manage the impacts of DON, the Ontario government also hosted two roundtable sessions with industry representatives to work on connecting farmers with mental health supports and to provide solutions to help the sector find alternate markets for high-DON corn.
Article written by RealAgriculture –
www.realagriculture.com
