Funding Available to Help with Farm Workplace Health & Safety
Is your farm operation in need of funding to implement physical distancing protocols, subsidize purchasing of personal protective equipment (PPE) or help with providing accommodations for isolating workers? On May 14, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) announced a new funding program under the Canadian Agriculture Partnership to support farms in addressing health and safety issues directly related to COVID-19.
Update! The province announced on June 12 that they will be significantly expanding the Agri-food Workplace Protection Program and committing up to $15 million to enhance health and safety measures on farms and in food processing facilities.
Agri-Food Workplace Protection Program – Producers
Funding from this program will cover 70% of eligible expenses up to $7,500 per farm. Eligible expenses can be incurred starting May 14, 2020 and applications will be received on an ongoing basis as funding remains. Each farm business can only apply once. There are two available streams of funding.
Stream 1: Occupational Health and Safety Measures
For projects to implement occupational health and safety measures related to COVID-19 on farms with intensive use of labour.
Eligible activities include:
- Modifications within an agricultural operation to ensure appropriate safety with regards to social distancing needs (e.g., physical barriers)
- Acquiring personal protective equipment and other approved safety supplies for use throughout an agricultural operation and on-farm housing for workers
- Cleaning and disinfection throughout an agricultural operation and on-farm housing for workers
Where to Find Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Looking for essential PPE items like masks, gloves, face shields and hand sanitizer? Check out the Ontario Workplace PPE Supplier Directory.
Stream 2: Enhancing Healthy Workforce Access and Accommodation
For projects to address workforce access and accommodations as a result of an on-farm outbreak of COVID-19.
Eligible activities include:
- Activities to support worker accommodations, work-site mobility and transportation with new arrangements that are necessary to address a new and immediate health and safety issue that directly responds to an on-farm COVID-19 outbreak.
Additional Resources
- Agriculture health and safety during COVID-19: Guidance, resources and best practices from the Ontario government
- Rights and Responsibilities of Farm Employers and Employees from the National Farmers’ Union of Ontario
- List of hotels offering accommodations for temporary foreign workers in quarantine, from the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association
- Recorded webinars to support farm employers during COVID-19 from the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC): The first webinar focused on the temporary foreign worker program, while the second covered tools and resources to tap into the local labour force.
- Canadian Agricultural Human Resources Council: Resources for how to manage the risks of COVID-19 on the farm and farms with employees. The webpage has the latest recommendations, employee management tips, tools, posters, policies, and links to authorities.
- Farm Credit Canada Update your HR plan for COVID-19: Guidance about how you might update your HR Policy in case of an employee outbreak.
Visit our COVID-19 Resources page for other updates and resources.