Pest Management – Find out what Growing Forward 2 can do for you!

Pest Management – Find out what Growing Forward 2 can do for you!

Growing Forward 2 (GF2) is a five-year federal-provincial-territorial initiative designed to encourage innovation, competitiveness and market development in Canada’s agri-food and agri-products sector through cost-share funding opportunities. It was launched in 2013 and is delivered to farmers in Ontario by the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA). In the first three years of the program, GF2 has funded over 2400 projects at over $24 million in cost-share.

Planning is key
GF2 encourages producers to plan ahead, by providing funding to work with qualified individuals to assess their operation and create plans, such as an integrated pest management plan. Fees of a qualified individual to complete a plan are eligible for costshare, at 50per cent up to a maximum of $2,500.
Focus on Biosecurity
The project categories under the Animal and Plant Health area of focus encourage increased biosecurity. Biosecurity refers to a series of management practices designed to prevent, minimize and manage the introduction, spread, and release of plant pests. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) worked with industry stakeholders to develop a National Voluntary Farm-Level Biosecurity Standard for the Greenhouse, Nursery and Floriculture Sectors. The Standard provides a proactive approach to minimize the introduction and spread of diseases and pests. Producers can also use the targeted outcomes and considerations given in the Standard to assess their operation for increase risk for introduction and spread of pests. You can download the Standard here.

What growers need to apply to GF2*
• Have a farm business that’s a legal entity.
• Produce agricultural commodities in Ontario.
• File business and/or farm income/loss taxes in Ontario.
• Have a valid and up-to-date Premises Identification Number (PIN) for the farm property where the proposed project is taking place.
• Have a valid Farm Business Registration Number (FBRN) or an equivalent.
• A workshop maybe required for some project categories.
Only proposed projects with the highest merit or greatest impact will receive cost-share funding. That means the project must address a demonstrated need or business improvement. Criteria are specific to each project category. See Appendix 2 of the Program Guide.
*See Program Guide for full details.

Addressing Biosecurity Through GF2
Assessing your operation against the National Biosecurity Standard or creating an integrated pest management plan allows you to identify areas of increased risk. GF2 offers a number of opportunities for growers to implement physical changes to address some of those weaknesses. Physical improvements are eligible for 35 per cent cost-share, up to a maximum of $25,000 per project. In order to be eligible, you must receive written approval from OSCIA before incurring any project costs.

To be eligible under Animal and Plant Health, you must complete an applicable biosecurity workshop. OSCIA offers a 1-day crop biosecurity workshop, facilitated by an OSCIA Workshop Leader and a Certified Crop Advisor. Workshops and registration information are available on OSCIA’s website. You must also provide an assessment, such as an assessment against the National Biosecurity Standards, or one completed as part of a pest management plan.

Eligible Projects under Animal and Plant Health
Table 1 summarizes some of the projects and eligible activities and expenditures to help address plant health and pest management.

D1. Retrofits to establish an effective transition area. Build an anteroom or header house onto an existing greenhouse, to ensure clear separation between outside and inside traffic. An anteroom can facilitate protocols such as changing clothes and boots, signing logs to track movement, or even shower and/or wash, when moving from the outside environment to inside production areas.

D2. Facility flow management addresses modifications to existing structures to facilitate more efficient movement of people and plants to reduce risks. For example, production and propagation areas should be considered areas of higher risk for pest introduction. While construction of new facilities is not eligible, modifications to an existing facility to allow for separation of areas for processing, production and propagation is eligible.

D3. Traffic flow management allows for eligible activities such as installation of locks, signage, barriers, or re-routing of laneways to establish areas of increased biosecurity and controlled access.

D6. Cleaning and disinfection to prevent introduction and spread of diseases and pests covers installation of concrete wash pads or bays to facilitate cleaning of vehicles and equipment, installation of shower facilities in an already constructed anteroom, replacement of surfaces that cannot be easily cleaned and disinfected (e.g., conversion to concrete or stainless steel). A grower could also purchase specialized cleaning equipment, such as a hot water pressure washer.

D7 allows for modifications of existing structures to create segregation areas for distinct cohorts, such as new plant shipments or to create quarantine or isolation areas for infested plant stock.

D8. Animal health/plant pest monitoring and treatment equipment allows growers to purchase pest monitoring equipment and insect modeling software programs.

Table 1: Summary of Project Categories