Nova Scotia has created a $2.3 million program to help beef producers buy cattle and build farm infrastructure, with the aim of larger herds and more beef on the market. The provincial government announced the Nova Scotia Beef Development Program on 5 November.
The program pays up to 25 per cent of approved eligible costs, and the ceiling rises with a farm's beef income, which it defines as sales of live cattle or beef products. A farm with $70,000 to $249,000 in such sales can receive up to $50,000. Operations with $250,000 to $499,999 can receive up to $125,000, and farms at $500,000 and above up to $250,000.
Perennia, the province's food development agency, will run the program. Farmers must apply by 11 December, describing the proposed project, how it addresses current challenges and how it could create new revenue streams for beef.
"Every beef operation is different, so we wanted this program to give producers the flexibility to invest in projects that make sense for their farm," Agriculture Minister Greg Morrow said in a statement.
Alicia King, a beef producer and president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture, said in a statement that access to such programs can make a real difference to what is possible for individual operations. The sector, with the province's 10 provincially licensed abattoirs, processed 4,458 cattle worth about $48 million.
Reported by Diego Flammini for Farms.com.
Photo: Hdthomas45 / Wikimedia Commons (public domain), Angus cattle on a farm, not in Nova Scotia
Source: Farms.com
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