The Federal Government announced August 31, 2020 that the deadline for applying for the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) has been extended to October 31, 2020, making the program accessible longer to Canadians. Additional information can be found on the Government of Canada website.

The Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture (NSDA) is launching a survey looking at the effects COVID-19 has had on direct sales patterns within the Agriculture Industry.  Primary producers and producers who value-add are being encouraged to participate in the survey if they direct sell to consumers.

For the NSDA survey, direct sales are defined as “Farm to customer through farm gate, farmers market, online ecommerce, community shared agriculture deliveries and sales through small or alternative retailers.”

If you direct sell to consumers and would like to take part in this confidential survey, please contact Elizabeth Morgan at elizabeth.morgan@novascotia.ca with your name, farm name, and the region your operation is situated. A department staff member will contact you about the survey this September.

An updated list compiled by the Canadian Pork Council of COVID-19 Financial Support Programs Available to Canadian Pork Producers

An all-inclusive information portal is available to help farmers, food processors and agri-food businesses find information on new and existing programs and financial resources to address hardships that many are experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

These initiatives help to:

• Maintain workforces,
• Keep facilities safe,
• Provide access to capital,
• Manage processing slowdowns and surpluses, and
• Ensure Canadians continue to have access to a stable food supply

Learn more about at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada website.

Manitoba Pork has been doing “farmer math” on the CANADIAN EMERGENCY WAGE SUBSIDY (CEWS) program to see if it will generate real cash to offset the drop in hog and weanling prices. This example shows how they think you can get money from this program.

Simply put, they found that CEWS will pay up to $847 per week per employee on your farm – IF you have seen farm revenue drop 15-30% since March. This loss should not be hard to show on many farms.

The other critical step is, YOU MUST FILL OUT AN APPLICATION to receive CEWS! Plan on taking an hour to complete the application, according to an eastern producer who applied.

CEWS is retroactive to March and is good until December 19, 2020. Follow the instructions on the attached document.

If you get denied, please let Pork Nova Scotia know. We are in contact with government officials on how to make programs work for producers and will do whatever we can to help you out.