Provincial and federal governments team up to offset severe weather
The provincial and federal governments are providing assistance to grape growers and beekeepers in Ontatio.
Two new AgriRecovery initiatives will provide up to $5 million to grape growers and $5 million for commercial beekeepers, to help offset losses brought on by extreme weather from summer 2021 to last winter.
This July, grape growers can apply for up to 70 percent of the costs of replacing or renewing grapevines that were lost or damaged.
Meanwhile, beekeepers can get up to 70 percent of the cost of purchasing bee colonies to replace those impacted.
Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey says this will do a lot to help growers.
"Beekeepers and grape growers are key contributors to Ontario’s thriving agriculture industry," said Vance Badawey, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services and Member of Parliament for Niagara Centre. "AgriRecovery can help growers alleviate unforeseen costs out of their control, so they can continue to deliver high value to the sector."
In 2021, Ontario represented 25 percent of all beekeepers in Canada, with 13 percent of the colonies and seven percent of the honey production.
That same year, grape growers in the province harvested 17,770 acres of grapes, which is worth about $115 million.
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