Purpose and Objectives-
Eligibility
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Financial Assistance
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Application Process
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Claiming Process
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Project Categories
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Application Form
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Category A - Business Development
and Market Enhancement
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Category B - Land Development and
Protection
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Category C - Traceability
Category D - Regulatory Compliance
Food and Farm Safety
Category E - Agroenvironmental Iniatiatives
Category F - Biodiversity Initiatives
In cooperation wtih Ducks Unlimited Canada
Category G - Environmental
Farm Stewarship
The Farm Investment Fund (FIF) supports sustainable growth
in Nova Scotia farm businesses by providing investment for
projects that enhance economic viability, farm and food
safety, and promote environmental stewardship.
Program Objectives
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enhance skills of farm business owners
and their employees; |
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develop marketing and value-added opportunities; |
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increase awareness and compliance in areas of farm
and public protection; |
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improve the level of environmental management. |
Eligible Applicant
| a. |
has a current registration under the Farm
Registration Act; |
| b. |
is actively farming; |
| c. |
must have a completed Environmental Farm Plan (EFP)
at time of application, or at the minimum have initiated
the process (be on the list) to have an EFP completed; |
| d. |
generates an annual gross farming income of $10,000
or more. This income amount is based on the most recently
completed fiscal year Notice of Assessment from Canada
Revenue Agency (CRA). Verification may be requested.
The requirement of generating $10,000 in farm income
will be waived for new entrants. The minimum income
requirement must be satisfied by eligible commodity
sales; however, up to 25% of sales may be comprised
of forest product sales.
NOTE: The contact number for the Environmental Farm
Plan Program is (902) 893-2293. |
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New Entrant Criteria:
An applicant is considered a new entrant for the Farm
Investment Fund for the first five years that the
farm is registered. To qualify as a new entrant, the
applicant:
- has registered a farm for the first time during
or after the 2005-06 registration year;
- has purchased or inherited a farm for the first
time;
- must also be over 19 years of age and have a minimum
of 25 per cent controlling interest in the farm
business;
- Note: If changing from one commodity to another,
a producer will be assessed according to new entrant
criteria. Verification of new entrant status may
be requested.
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Application
Process
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Read the application form and guidelines
carefully. |
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Applications can be submitted by mail, fax or in person.
Only ONE application per registered
farm will be considered for processing. |
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In addition to the application form, some projects
may require third party assessments prior to funding
approval. |
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Provide a copy of Appendix B: Action Plan
from your Environmental Farm Plan document,
if not previously submitted. |
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If you are applying for projects in Category A: Business
Management and Market Development, you must complete
the Category A
Project Description Form and submit
it with your Farm Investment Fund application. |
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If you have any questions contact the Programs and
Business Risk Management (PBRM) office. |
NOTE: Applications must be deemed complete
by the PBRM office before starting project activities or
purchases. Project expenses incurred after the PBRM Office
receives the completed application, up to the date of approval,
are at the applicant's risk. The only exception to this
requirement is for limestone transportation assistance;
refer to Category B for details.
Financial Assistance
Eligible projects must be directly applicable to the registered
farm qualifying for the assistance on agricultural land
owned or leased. A copy of the long term (10 years) lease
or rental agreement must accompany the
application form for all physical projects applicable to
the leased/rented land. It is a condition of approval that
the lease be of at least 10 years duration. You must advise
us immediately, in writing, if the lease is terminated,
if the term of the lease changes or if the identity of the
lessor changes in any way (for example, if the lessor assigns
the lease or if the lease changes in composition).
All approved project work must be completed in the current
program year prior to March 1, 2010. Unused
offered assistance cannot be carried forward from one program
year to the next. All funding is on a cost-shared basis.
Percentage level of assistance offered depends upon the
category and eligible activity. Assistance does not apply
to normal business overhead, operating expenses, capital
purchases, used equipment, computer hardware or software
and does not include HST/GST. In-kind contributions,
other than for land development, are not eligible for assistance.
Repeat Project Activities - Repeat initiatives may not be
assisted, or may receive a lower level of contribution as
determined by the Program Administration.
Provincial Funding Limits: Categories A – G
Applicants can qualify to receive an offer of assistance
according to the table below. Large project(s) may be eligible
for up to an equivalent of two years of funding if completed
within the program year of project approval. In this case,
payment would still be paid over two fiscal years. Verification
of income level may be requested.
| Income Level (Gross Sales of eligible commodities) |
Provincial Funding Cap |
| $10,000 - $24,999 |
$5,000 |
| $25,000 - $99,999 and new entrants |
$10,000 |
| $100,000 - $499,999 |
$15,000 |
| $500,000 + |
$20,000 |
To access provincial funding in Category G, applicants
must have a completed Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) at the
time of application to access the Beneficial Management
Practices (BMP) funding.
Federal Funding Limits:
Category A - Business Management and Market Enhancement
Applicants can receive up to $10,000 per
year federal funding for selected approved projects in this
category.
Category C - Traceability
Applicants can receive up to $10,000 per
year in federal funding for selected approved projects in
this category.
Category D - Regulatory Compliance: Food and Farm
Safety
Applicants can receive up to $2,500 per
year federal funding for selected approved projects in this
category.
Category G - Environmental Farm Stewardship Program
Applicants can receive up to $50,000 in
federal funding over the lifetime of the Agreement (2009-2013)
for Beneficial Management Practices. Projects in BMP 31
and BMP 32 combined cannot exceed $15,000
in federal funding over the life of the Agreement (2009-2013).
Other caps and limits vary by project and BMP. Please refer
to each BMP for specific requirements.
To access the federal funding (Category G):
| a. |
applicants must have a completed
Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) at the time of application
to access federal funding for all Beneficial Management
Practices (BMPs); |
| b. |
all projects will require an assessment of environmental
impacts (Canadian Environmental Assessment Act [CEAA]
equivalent). |
Payment Recovery Criteria
Financial contributions under this Program may be repayable
if it is demonstrated that funds have been used for purposes
or projects other than those approved in the agreement.
The applicant will also be ineligible to apply to the program
for the following two program years.
Provincial Funding
Funding claimed through this program by an applicant may
be used to offset any debt(s) the applicant has owing to
the Crown in Right of the Province of Nova Scotia.
Federal Funding
Funding claimed through this program by an applicant may
be used to offset any debt(s) the applicant has owing to
the Crown in Right of Canada.
Note: No more than 75% Federal/Provincial funding can be
received for any project regardless of source. Applicants
are required to disclose their funding sources.
Application Processing
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The Farm Investment Fund is subject to
annual budget approval. Numbers of applications and
budget amounts will determine program closure date in
any year. |
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Applications will be reviewed in sequence based on
the date the application is deemed complete. |
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Once the original Letter of Agreement
has been generated, project changes may be submitted
in writing only once within 30 days
of the date noted on the original Letter of Agreement. |
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In the event of a dispute or disagreement regarding
the Program administration staff’s interpretation
of any aspect of the Program, the decision of the Program
administration staff will prevail and is final. |
Project and Applicant Requirements
All activities must be conducted in an environmentally
sound manner. Regardless of any involvement by the applicant
in the Environmental Farm Plan program, it is the applicant's
responsibility to seek out regulatory requirements, obtain
required permits and ensure environmental compliance for
any project under this program. It is also the applicant's
responsibility to ensure that project design and construction
meet all regulatory requirements, including building and
other permits.
Note: Applicants are responsible for ensuring accuracy
of listed project activity and budget information.
Applicant Claiming
Process
Upon approval, applicants will receive a Letter of Agreement
which identifies the eligible project activities,
assistance offered and the terms and conditions to which
the offer of assistance is subject.
Information required for claiming:
| General Program Claiming Criteria: |
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all claims must be postmarked by the post
office or received in the PBRM Office by March
1, 2010. Late claims will not be processed; |
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signed copy of the Letter of Agreement; |
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submission of a Farm Investment Fund Claim Form, based
on the amount of the original approval or the actual
activity costs, whichever is less; |
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copies of all invoices with proof of payment (ie.
cancelled cheques, credit card statements, debit slips
or official invoices marked paid and signed by supplier)
to support completed approved project activities; |
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the applicant consents to the release of his/her name
and the amount of any support received under the program
as public information, to be actively disseminated by
the Department of Agriculture; |
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all physical projects must be viewed prior to release
of payment. |
Note: Interim claims may be submitted
at any time after project completion and prior to the March
1, 2010 deadline for all final claims.
Provincial Specific Claiming Requirements:
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In addition to the claim form and proof
of payment documents, the following information must
be provided for the following approved projects:
a) manure and pesticide storage construction - copies
of municipal building permits;
b) tile drainage - copy of the tile drainage installation
plan;
c) Nutrient Management Plan - nutrient management plan
summary template and the three (3) year lime program
template;
d) limestone transportation - invoices and proof of
payment for transportation expenses. (Note: invoice
must indicate total amount of limestone transported); |
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Eligibility of financial assistance will be determined
from initial invoices submitted at claiming; |
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Payments will be made based on date of eligible project
activity NOT invoice date;
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Site visits are mandatory for all completed physical
projects prior to payments being made on those activities. |
Federal Specific Claiming Requirements:
Federal projects with identified mitigation measures will
require a site audit prior to the release of payments.
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in addition to the claim form and proof
of payment documents, copies of municipal building permits
(if applicable) must be provided for the following approved
projects: manure, pesticide, chemical or fertilizer
storage construction; |
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all mitigation measures listed in the Letter of
Agreement must be completed prior to release of
funding; |
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all physical work projects require a mandatory site
visit prior to payment. |
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copies of permits or letters of approval obtained
from DFO, NWPP, NSDE, etc. |
Project Evaluation
Review and evaluation of projects may be carried out by
officials of the Department of Agriculture or other parties
chosen by the Department of Agriculture for the purpose
of audit, analysis, evaluation, program development and
determining assistance.
This review and evaluation process may be conducted prior
to project commencement, during work or upon project completion.
Project Categories
| Category A: |
Business Development and Market
Enhancement
Facilitates the building of business management capacity
and developing new markets and opportunities. |
| Category B: |
Land Development and Protection
Contributes to improving the management of land and
water resources. Financial assistance is targeted to
ensuring availability of adequate land area of suitable
quality for the maintenance and growth of the farm's
land production base. |
| Category C: |
Traceability
Assists in the purchase and installation of traceability
infrastructure and training of staff to implement traceability
systems for plants, animals and products. |
| Category D: |
Regulatory Compliance, Food and Farm Safety
Assists in providing a safe environment for farm employees.
Assists in providing a safe food supply for the public. |
| Category E: |
Agroenvironmental Initiatives
Focuses on direct costs that farmers incur to address
issues, concerns and practices that impact on the
preservation of the natural environment. |
| Category F: |
Biodiversity Initiatives-In co-operation with
Ducks Unlimited Canada
Focuses on assisting producers in developing
or improving on-farm wildlife habitats. |
| Category G: |
Environmental Farm Stewardship Program
This program is comprised of a comprehensive set of
incentives (Beneficial Management Practices) to assist
farmers to mitigate on-farm environmental risk. The
program provides an opportunity to address risks identified
in their individual Environmental Farm Plans. The enhanced
program provides more opportunity and increased incentives
to advance environmental farm stewardship by Nova Scotia
producers. |
Aussi disponible en français
The application form below is available
as a download in Adobe Acrobat (PDF file) format. If you
do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your local
computer please see
Obtaining and Installing Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Farm Investment Fund Application Form
(Acobat Reader
format)
Farm Investment Fund Guidelines (Acobat
Reader format)
Nutrient Management Planners
Engineers
Category
A Project Description Form
How to contact us:
Programs and Business Risk Management Division
Farm Investment Fund
Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture
176 College Road, PO Box 550, Truro, NS B2N 5E3
Tel: (902) 893-6510 Toll-free: 1-866-844-4276
Fax: (902) 893-7579
Email: Programs
and Business Risk Management Webmaster
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