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Agriculture
& Agri-Food Canada News Release MINISTER STRAHL ANNOUNCES DETAILS OF 2006 OPTIONS PROGRAM OTTAWA, Ontario – The Honourable Chuck Strahl, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board, today announced the Canadian Farm Families Options Program (Options) will continue for a second year and will be open to those who received a payment for the 2005 program year. “Canada’s New Government is listening to producers and always evaluating how best to help them meet the challenges they face,” said Minister Strahl. “As a result, only those who received a payment in the first year of the program will be eligible for year 2. We remain committed to investing in initiatives that support our farmers.” Many farm families participated in the Options program. More than $141 million was paid to 15,000 individual farmers and farm families across the country in addition to the business training and services that were offered to them. An evaluation will provide information on how to make programs more responsive to the needs of farm families. Options will continue to be offered for the 2006 program year to farm families who received a payment in 2005 but will not be available to those who are not already enrolled. Under the Options Program, these farm families are eligible to participate, at no cost, in services and programs to help them improve their farm or off-farm income. These services include the Farm Business Assessment (FBA) and Canadian Agricultural Skills Service (CASS). Producers who are not eligible for the 2006 Options program may still take advantage of programs and services offered by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) to help them assess their business, develop a business plan, take training to expand their skills and determine the feasibility of value-added opportunities. These services are offered through programs including the Canadian Farm Business Advisory Services (CFBAS), CASS and Planning and Assessment for Value-Added Enterprises (PAVE). Canada’s New Government is making investments which will help farm families earn a better living. A total of $4.5 billion in new funding has been committed to the agriculture sector through measures in Budget 2006 and Budget 2007. These investments include working with provincial and territorial partners to improve business risk management programming so that it is more predictable, bankable and better able to help producers respond to rising costs.
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