Overview

The purpose of this Project Category is to adopt demonstrated and innovative integrated pest management practices and incorporate tools and equipment for monitoring, management and treatment into plant health risk management plans, to prevent, identify and limit the introduction and spread of pests.

Definitions

Read the definitions to help you understand the terms used in these guidelines.

How to apply

  1. Read the guidelines on this page.
  2. Download and complete the application form (PDF).
  3. Email your completed application to SustainableCAP3@ontario.ca.

Deadline

Applications will be accepted as of September 19, 2023 on an ongoing basis until no later than January 6, 2025, subject to the availability of funding allocated to the Initiative.

Schedule 6 — Project Category: innovation pest monitoring and management tools and equipment

1. Purpose of Project Category

The purpose of this Project Category is to adopt demonstrated and innovative integrated pest management practices and incorporate tools and equipment for monitoring, management and treatment into plant health risk management plans, to prevent, identify and limit the introduction and spread of pests.

2. Term of Project Category

See section 2 of the Guidelines.

3. Funding for Project Category

A Recipient is eligible to receive thirty-five percent (35%) of Eligible Costs up to a maximum of fifty-thousand dollars ($50,000) per Project under this Project Category.

4. Operation of the Project Category

4.1 Eligible and ineligible activities under the Project Category

4.1.1 Eligible activities

The following activities are eligible under this Project Category:

  1. Purchasing of select on-farm monitoring and diagnostic tools.
  2. Purchasing of select on-farm management tools and equipment to adopt innovative and integrated pest management practices.
4.1.2 Ineligible activities

The following activities are ineligible under the Project Category:

  1. Routine maintenance of planting equipment and replacement of worn-out components.
  2. Any other activity not set out under section 4.1.1. of this Schedule “6” of the Guidelines.

4.2 Eligible Costs and Ineligible Costs under the Project Category

4.2.1 Eligible Costs

The following costs are eligible for the purposes of the Initiative, provided they were reasonably incurred and necessary to complete the Recipient’s Project:

  1. Costs that were incurred after the Project approval date but before the Project completion date.
  2. Costs that reflect the actual costs to the Recipient, less any costs, including taxes, for which the Recipient has received, will receive or is eligible to receive, a rebate, credit or refund.
  3. Deposits may be considered if they are made on or after September 19, 2023.
  4. Incremental salary and wages of the Recipients employees, excluding severance pay, who are working directly on the project. Where those employees are not dedicated solely to working on the project, the salaries and benefits must be pro-rated to reflect that portion of the salaries and benefits that apply to solely working on the project.
  5. For Primary Producers only, in-kind costs of unpaid labour (at a rate of $25 per hour) and use of own equipment (at a rate of $75 per hour) up to a combined total in-kind costs of $7,000.
  6. On-farm monitoring and diagnostic tools, including:
    1. monitoring equipment (for example, lures; traps; sticky cards; hand lens; sweep nets; microscope; Smartphone apps for diagnostics and monitoring; stored grain pest monitoring tools like pit fall traps, probe traps and sieves)
    2. environmental data loggers, for Project implementation
    3. drone or remote sensing technology, for Project implementation
    4. reference materials (for example, pest identification and management guides)
    5. pest modeling software
    6. grain grinders to determine DON and other mycotoxin concentrations in grain samples
    7. grain monitoring robots (for example, grain bin management robot)
    8. storage materials and equipment for samples (for example, grain probes, pheromone-baited pit-fall traps, sieves, containers, dryers, FTA (Flinders Technology Associates) cards for DNA storage, sterile tubes and materials for diagnostics)
    9. temperature and moisture monitoring systems, and gas detection systems for pest and spoilage monitoring as a preventative measure to reduce storage pests
  7. On-farm management tools and equipment, including:
    1. new technologies to modify environmental conditions or farming practices to reduce pest development and spread
    2. innovative point-source application technologies that reduce environmental risk and worker exposure (for example, puffers for mating disruption)
    3. tools and equipment to adopt evidence-based innovative Integrated Pest Management practices (for example, area-wide mating disruption, attract-and-kill for targeted control, mass-trapping, odour-based repellents
    4. tools and equipment to implement cultural control methods to be incorporated into integrated pest management systems (for example, biologicals / beneficials, protective exclusion netting, robotic equipment)
    5. biological control agents compatible with best management practices for IPM (for example, biocontrol nematodes for Bt resistant rootworm management and wireworms)
  8. Material costs, equipment rental costs and service fees in order to:
    1. implement cultural control practices, such as permanent field perimeter strips; plantings to encourage natural predation; trenches, barriers and trap crops; modifying mechanical weed control units; cover crops as biofumigants or for rotation to break a pest cycle
    2. establish integrated approaches for control of invasive and emerging pests (for example, leafy spurge, purple loose strife, buckthorn, One Spotted Stink Bug, etc.), such as seeding perennial forages that withstand competition from invasive plants; introducing biological control agents such as insects, fungi and bacteria; rental of services using specialized selective grazing management techniques to control invasive plants
    3. fumigate or sanitize storage bins as a preventative measure to reduce storage pests
4.2.2 Ineligible Costs

The following costs are ineligible for the purposes of this Project Category:

  1. Costs to apply to this Project Category.
  2. Costs that were incurred before the Project approval date and after the Project completion date.
  3. Costs to obtain goods, services or both, where those goods, services or both were not obtained from an entity operating at Arm’s Length from the Recipient.
  4. Costs related to the Recipient’s ordinary business operations (for example, day-to-day business operating expenses related directly to producing the goods or services sold by a business, to selling goods and services, costs of running a business).
  5. Deposits (prepayments) for which goods or services are not yet fully received.
  6. Transportation, meal and hotel costs.
  7. Costs related to submitting reports to the Ministry.
  8. Project costs that have already been claimed under other Project Categories.
  9. In-kind use of own land, facilities, materials or supplies.
  10. In-kind labour and equipment to complete cleaning or disinfecting activities.
  11. Warranties for equipment or components used for modification of equipment.
  12. General clothing and equipment for use in the RAZ or CAP (for example, coveralls, boots, buckets, and brushes).
  13. Common items that can be used for multiple purposes (for example, smart phones, shovels, vehicles).
  14. Costs that are routine, ongoing, maintenance or operational.
  15. Modifications and repairs as part of routine maintenance (for example, replacing old surfaces with the same material, replacing or repairing doors, roofing, exterior walls, foundation or fencing).
  16. Ongoing consumables (for example, disposable coveralls, boot covers, gloves, masks, disinfectant, soap, bait).
  17. Fumigation/pesticide products.
  18. Any cost not for the sole purpose of decreasing biosecurity risk to plant health (for example, pesticide spills, hazardous waste, grain bin construction).
  19. Washers, dryers, furniture or equipment for transition area that are not directly related to biosecurity.
  20. Costs associated with contamination scenarios caused by the Recipient’s negligence or faulty practices.
  21. Consultant costs.
  22. New seeding and planting equipment.
  23. Any other costs that are not set out under section 4.2.1 of this Schedule “6” of the Guidelines.

4.3 Eligibility requirements under the Project Category

It is recommended that Primary Producers complete a Crop or Horticulture Biosecurity Workshop to help inform their Project.

To be eligible to participate in this Project Category, an Applicant will meet the following requirements:

  1. Be a Person that is a Primary Producer or Service Provider.
  2. Provide its:
    1. CRA BN, or
    2. SIN, but only if the Applicant has been found eligible to participate in the Initiative and is also eligible to receive an Initiative Payment
  3. Submit a completed Ministry-approved Application Form to the Ministry in accordance with what is set out under section 4.4 of the Guidelines.
  4. Is undertaking an activity set out in section 4.1.1 of this Schedule “6” of the Guidelines.
  5. For Primary Producers only, provide a commodity-specific health or pest risk assessment OR a farm-wide assessment against the national biosecurity standards, that supports need for the project.
  6. Have a valid and up to date Premises ID Number for the business location(s) where the Project is to take place. (To register for or update a Premises ID Number, visit the Provincial Premises Registry).
  7. If applying as a Primary Producer, have a:
    1. valid Farm Business Registration Number (FBRN)
    2. an Order from the Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Appeal Tribunal exempting the Person from having to have a FBRN
    3. a letter from the Indian Agriculture Program of Ontario
    4. income statements or other evidence that is acceptable to the Priority Administrator, Priority Operator, Designated Program Operator or Administrator
  8. Be in compliance with the following for its business operations at the time of applying to the Initiative:
    1. environmental-related Requirements Of Law
    2. labour-related Requirements Of Law
    3. tax-related Requirements Of Law
    4. material compliance with all other Requirements Of Law
  9. Is not, nor is any officer, director or employee of the Applicant (if any), a current or former federal public office holder or federal public servant, or if the Applicant is, or any officer, director or employee of the Applicant (if any) is, the Applicant, or that officer, director or employee of the Applicant (if any) is in compliance with the Conflict of Interest Act (Canada), the Conflict of Interest Code for Members of the House of Commons (Canada), the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector (Canada) and the Policy on Conflict of Interest and Post-employment (Canada), as applicable.
  10. Is not, nor is any officer, director or employee of the Applicant (if any), a member of the House of Commons on the Senate, or, if the Applicant is, or any officer, director or employee of the Applicant (if any) is, the Applicant, or the officer, director or employee of the Applicant (if any), is permitted under the Parliament of Canada Act (Canada) to receive funding from Canada under the Sustainable CAP.
  11. Agrees that any intellectual property rights arising from their Project, should the Applicant be found to be eligible to participate in the Initiative as well as receive an Initiative Payment, belongs to the Applicant.
  12. Agrees that Canada and Ontario may, should the Applicant be found to be eligible to participate in the Initiative as well as receive an Initiative Payment, publish information about the Applicant, including:
    1. project-related information
    2. the Name of the Applicant
    3. the amount of funding Canada and Ontario provided
    4. the outcome of the Project
  13. Agrees to be bound by the terms, conditions and requirements of the Initiative, as set out in the Minister’s Order, the Guidelines and the Approval Letter.

4.4 Applying to the Project Category

See section 4.4 of the Guidelines.

4.5 Review of Application, evaluation criteria and notification

The Ministry will review the Application Form to determine whether the Applicant is eligible to participate in the Project Category. The Ministry will only review a completed Application Form. Incomplete Application Forms will not be accepted. Applicants will be notified if they submit an incomplete Application and receive an opportunity to resubmit.

Applications will be evaluated based on:

  • Impact of the Project in aligning with biosecurity standards and/or a commodity-specific risk management program.
  • Preference will be given to Projects that demonstrate support of a Certified Crop Advisor or Integrated Pest Management (IPM) consultant for the Project.
  • Preference will be given to Projects that demonstrate sustainability (for example, the Project will markedly reduce chemical pesticide use).

The Ministry will provide an Approval Letter via Email to successful Applicants. The Approval Letter will include the following:

  1. a file number, which the Ministry uses to refer to the specific Project
  2. the Project description
  3. the maximum amount of Funds and cost shared percentage approved
  4. the Eligible Costs
  5. the date the Recipient is required to complete its Project
  6. the Claim submission deadline
  7. the final report submission information including deadline

The Ministry will provide an email to unsuccessful Applicants setting out a brief explanation of why they were not approved to participate in the Initiative.