Toronto, Ontario – Ontario and the federal government announced steps to help farmers experiencing high levels of deoxynivalenol (DON), a plant disease that impacted Ontario's corn crop this year due to wet weather.
They will provide special assistance to help farmers experiencing revenue loss because of high levels of DON. While the largest portion of Ontario's corn crop remains unaffected, this support will help ease the impact for affected farmers and assist the entire grain sector in better managing challenges caused by this plant disease in the future.
Through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, the governments are:
- Opening an application process aimed at covering a portion of eligible farmers' expenses from testing for DON levels.
- Supporting new projects to help address challenges at different points in the grain sector value chain, such as finding ways to best process or market corn impacted by DON.
- Partnering with the Grain Farmers of Ontario on research and new actions to reduce the frequency and impact of high DON levels, including finding temporary options to store corn to improve grain quality.
While the largest portion of Ontario's corn crop remains unaffected, the province continues to monitor the scope of the impact and review possible longer-term implications. It is also providing information on best management practices for farmers concerned about the possible impacts of this plant disease on their operations.
Source : Government of Canada