June 26th, 2015
With seasonal droughts and unforeseen disasters, it’s tough being a farmer sometimes. If your business is struggling because of things out of your control, there are many government grants you can apply for to help get your business back on its feet.
- Changes in practice
As consumers become increasingly conscious of the things they’re eating, more caution has to be put into to how the crops are grown. By applying for a government grant to make your product organic or GMO-free, you can receive a good chunk of additional funding. To qualify as an organic product in Canada and the US, the product must contain 95% organic matter or more. With the change in market demand, it’s a great time to start making organic produce.
- Competition outselling you
Big-box distributors often have more ways of making mass quantities of their product and shipping them out in cheaper ways. If you don’t have the funds to keep up with this kind of distribution, you can always apply for a grant to help take the stress out of the transportation and growing process.
Since more consumers preferring locally grown products today, the government has had no choice but to respond by helping those who need it. It’s also a possibility that those to whom you are selling to are the real problem, so consider changing up your customer base if you’re having financial problems.
- Outdated technology
In the world we live in today, many more people are becoming environmentally cautious. Some customers refuse to buy certain products if they’ve grown in an environmentally unfriendly manner. By making the shift towards ‘green’ products, you can apply for government grants to update the production technology you’re using.
If it happens to be old technology you’re using anyways, applying for this grant to update can help the business run more efficiently and generate more profit.
- Expanding the business
As a part of the recent Growing Forward 2 agriculture plan, federal and provincial governments are providing funding to farms looking to expand their businesses. Whether it be within the continent or exporting overseas, the government is looking to help the trade service wherever they can. This initiative, dubbed AgriMarketing, is focused on increasing the amounts of agricultural exports to other countries, which will in turn help out the country’s economy.
If you’re having trouble finding buyers for your product, check in with your local federal government representative to see how they can help get your product out on the global market.
- Shortage of products
If you simply don’t have the funds to buy more livestock or grain seed, you can tap into government resources for that too. By making a detailed report on needs and estimates, you can get additional funding to help replenish the pasture with whatever you might need. This initiative is more focused on helping the struggling businesses, so you might only want to consider reaching out if you’ve exhausted alternate options.
Check out INAC’s funding programs if you’d like to read further on the topic.
