The Honourable Gerry Byrne, Minister of Fisheries and Land Resources, today provided an update on an initiative to help increase the variety of crops grown in Newfoundland and Labrador, and offer commercial farmers a head start to the growing season.
The 2019 Vegetable Transplant Program provided 1.7 million vegetable transplants to 54 commercial farmers at cost, compared to 255,800 transplants distributed to 25 farmers in 2018. Based on the types and quantities of transplants distributed to farmers for the 2019 growing season, the program is expected to result in approximately $1.6 million in combined revenues for proponents. Crop varieties included broccoli, cabbage, onion, kohlrabi, Brussels sprout, kale, leek, cauliflower, and rutabaga.
Fisheries and Land Resources officials have inspected all 54 participating farms and determined that with one exception, participating farmers have complied with utilization requirements, such as planting their complete orders as soon as possible to avoid decreasing the viability of the transplants, and maintaining transplants properly until planted to prevent loss of productivity or irreversible damage. Farmers and new entrants demonstrating strong compliance with the program will be given highest priority for future allocations. A full report on the 2019 program is available here.
This initiative advances the Provincial Government’s plans to develop a stronger economic foundation and increase food self-sufficiency by at least 20 per cent by 2022, as outlined in The Way Forward. Support for agriculture also delivers on commitments in The Way Forward to strengthen the economy and deliver better services and better outcomes for residents. The Way Forward outlines all actions the Provincial Government is taking to achieve a strong, diversified province with a high standard of living, and can be viewed at thewayforward.gov.nl.ca.
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“Due to the overwhelming success and popularity of this program, we dispersed seven times more vegetable transplants to twice as many commercial farmers in 2019. Farmers report that this program has enabled them to successfully grow food they would not usually have tried to produce in Newfoundland and Labrador, and – due to the high quality of transplants produced at the Wooddale Centre – farmers are reporting increased yields per acre. This is a fantastic result, and I thank farmers for their cooperation and dedication to increasing food self-sufficiency in this province.”
Honourable Gerry Byrne
Fisheries and Land Resources
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Learn more
Vegetable Transplant Program
Canadian Agricultural Partnership
Provincial Agrifoods Assistance Program
The Way Forward on Agriculture
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Media contact
Linda Skinner
Fisheries and Land Resources
709-637-2284, 632-8167
lindaskinner@gov.nl.ca