Two farm organizations have teamed up to offer financial support to farmers in Atlantic Canada who are struggling due to the effects of climate change. The Atlantic Canadian Organic Regional Network and the Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security started an online fundraising campaign that offers immediate and direct aid to eligible producers.
Bethany Koughan, the network's program manager, says she's heard from growers who have had significant losses or poor yields, who have had to till fall crops due to drought, who couldn't harvest blueberries due to the forest use ban, and who have had to buy feed due to poor pasture growth.
"I was feeling frustrated. We were hearing kind of anecdotally from farmers across the country really, but especially in the Atlantic region, just how terribly tricky this season has been," says Koughan. "So this was a way for us to … address it head on and do something quickly and directly."
The fund is open to non-subsistence farmers whose operation is their primary income stream, who are located in the Atlantic region, who are practising ecological agriculture, and who do not have crop insurance. Hosted on the GoFundMe website, the fund has raised about $4,500 so far.
Read more at CBC
