Government funds for Hay East campaign

Saturday, November 3, 2012

by SUSAN MANN

The farming industry’s Hay East program got a boost today after the Ontario and federal governments announced $500,000 in funding to help pay for transporting hay to provincial farms from the west.

The two levels of government will also provide an additional monetary contribution by matching public Hay East donations up to $2.5 million. Both amounts are being cost-shared with the federal government paying 60 per cent and the province paying 40 per cent.

Ontario Federation of Agriculture president Mark Wales says “this will really help get the process moving.” But it would have been nicer if the governments just put the whole $3 million on the table immediately, he adds.

“This is going to challenge the organizers to get matching donations,” he notes, adding he assumes any money raised from the Hay East fundraising event at the Almonte Civitan Club (in Lanark County) tonight will count to receive the matching government funding.

Mennonite Disaster Service and farm groups in both Western and Eastern Canada are organizing the Hay East campaign. It is similar to the Hay West program in 2002 where thousands of Eastern Canadian farmers donated hay to western producers who were facing drought.

Ontario livestock farmers have requested more than 60,000 bales of hay through the Hay East program, it says in the joint Ontario and Canadian government press release today announcing the funding.

Wales says hay from Western farmers has already arrived in Ontario but he didn’t know how much so far “because it keeps changing every day. There’s some coming every week.” The need is across Ontario “as well as the Pontiac region of Quebec (located across the river from Ontario’s Renfrew County). They need about 10,000 or so bales.”

There was record-low rainfall in many parts of Ontario this summer and livestock farmers had to begin feeding the hay they had stored for winter months earlier than usual leaving them short of hay. Pastures were also affected by lack of moisture.

Monetary donations can be made at any Scotiabank branch. BF