On February 28, 2019 the program was terminated. For full details, refer to
Minister's Order: Ontario Edible Horticultural Support Program [0006-2019]
The Edible Horticulture Support Program provided financial support to help Ontario producers of edible horticulture products adjust to new and challenging cost pressures in the small business environment. Payments were based on net sales of edible horticulture. The Edible Horticulture Support Program was funded by the Government of Ontario and was available in 2018.
Eligibility
To be eligible, producers had to meet the following criteria:
- Produced and sold at least one eligible commodity in Ontario
- Had a minimum of $5,000 in allowable net sales (ANS) for eligible commodities in 2016 (2017 for new farmers)
- Have a valid premises ID on file
- Submitted 2016 tax documents reporting farm income
How it worked
Participants received a payment in late April 2018 based on their allowable net sales of edible horticulture, as reported in their 2016 tax data and already calculated for SDRM: Edible Horticulture. Payments were calculated using tiers based on a participant's ANS and a proration rate was applied, based on participation, to ensure total payments did not exceed available funding.
Enrollment
SDRM participants were automatically enrolled
No action was required for producers who had:
- Made a deposit for 2017 SDRM: Edible Horticulture, or
- Received a 2017 SDRM participant package and had a valid premises ID on file with Agricorp
These producers automatically received payment details in the mail beginning in late April 2018.
Other producers called Agricorp to apply
To enrol in the Edible Horticulture Support Program producers had to:
- Call Agricorp to apply
- Submit tax data and make sure they had a premises ID by March 23, 2018
Since the program was designed to address new cost challenges, producers did not have to farm in 2016 to participate. For the 2018 program year, producers who had reported zero edible horticulture income for 2016 could apply using 2017 tax data.
Payments
Program payments were based on a percentage of a producer's allowable net sales (ANS) for edible horticulture, calculated for SDRM: Edible Horticulture using their tax data. To focus support on smaller businesses, payments were calculated using tiers, with higher rates for lower portions of ANS.
ANS tiers
| Tier | Portion of ANS | Tier rate |
|---|
| 1 | Up to $1 million | 2.5% |
| 2 | Between $1 million and $2.5 million | 2.0% |
| 3 | Between $2.5 million and $5 million | 1.5% |
| 4 | Between $5 million and $10 million | 1.0% |
| N/A | Above $10 million | 0 |
A producer's ANS may have fallen across multiple tiers. For example, if the ANS was $2 million, the first $1 million would have fallen in tier 1 and the remaining $1 million would have fallen in tier 2. Any remaining ANS above $10 million did not qualify for payment.
How payments were calculated
- Each portion of a producer's ANS was multiplied by the applicable tier rate.
- Each of these ANS subtotals were added together for a prepayment amount.
- The prepayment amount was multiplied by a proration rate to ensure payments did not exceed available funding.
Important dates
Deadline to apply with all requirements was March 23, 2018
Payments began in late April 2018
The program was terminated on February 28, 2019
Cannot retrieve the URL specified in the Content Link property. For more assistance, contact your site administrator.
