Planning New Opportunities Program
The Planning New Opportunities Program helps farms, agri-businesses and agricultural industry associations be more competitive, manage transition, develop risk management strategies and respond to change.
Offered by Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture
Amount
Up to $15,000
Up to 60% of eligible expenses, to a maximum of $15,000
Quick eligibility check
Who can apply
Eligible Applicants
- Registered Farms
- Miākmaq conducting farming activities in Miākmaw communities
- Agricultural industry associations
- Agri-businesses Program Criteria Farms must:
- be currently registered under the Farm Registration Act.
- be actively farming in the program year and the applicant must be 19 years of age or
older.
- generate an annual eligible gross farming income of $30,000 or more. The eligible
farming income will be based on the Farm Registration income level.
Agricultural industry associations must:
- demonstrate not-for-profit status by providing documentation
- represent identifiable Nova Scotia agriculture and agri-food products (see note below).
Agri-businesses must:
- represent identifiable Nova Scotia agriculture and agri-food products (see note below).
- generate an annual eligible gross income of $30,000 or more based on 2025 or 2026 T2
Corporation Income Tax Return and/or internal Income Statement.
- use the table below to show proof of purchase of a certain level of local ingredients
based on their income level.
- example: An eligible applicant has $55,000 in income, based on the table below
they will need to show proof of $10,000 in local inputs.
Proof of local ingredients:
Minimum annual purchases of raw Income Level agricultural ingredients $30,000 - $49,999 $5,000 $50,000 - $99,999 $10,000 $100,000+ $25,000 Note: Identifiable agriculture and agri-food products are products supporting economic growth using Nova Scotia primary agricultural ingredients.
About the funding
Applicants can apply to receive Program funding up to 60% of eligible expenses, to a maximum of $15,000.
Note: Approval of applications is subject to availability of Program funding. The total amount of Program funding awarded to each applicant, or to associated applicants, may be limited at the discretion of the Department of Agriculture to ensure opportunities for additional applicants to access Program funding.
The following items are eligible in this program:
Consultant Services
Show all funding details
- business plan
- succession plan
- feasibility study
- emergency preparedness plan
- data analysis fees
- engineering plan
Note: engineering plans for manure storage (BMP 71) must be applied for under the Environmental Stewardship and Climate Change Program.
Process Improvement Plans
- e.g. lean management, Six Sigma
Food Safety Plan
- HACCP based plan (e.g. good manufacturing practices, good distribution practices,
good agricultural practices, food safety quality system)
- regulatory based plan (e.g. Safe Food for Canadians, FSMA)
- global food safety initiative plan (e.g. Canada GAP, GLOBALG.A.P., SQF, BRC)
Farm Safety Plan
- development of farm safety plan (e.g. policies, safe work practices and
procedures, inspections, record keeping, etc.)
- occupational hygienist services (e.g. air and noise monitoring)
- engineering certification
Translation Services
- farm safety plan
- food safety plan
- product labels (does not include printing of labels)
Additional Expense Eligibility Requirements
- All food and farm safety plans must include a needs assessment, gap assessment, or
re-audit assessment.
- Over the duration of the program, applicants are eligible to apply and claim for each type
of expense one time only, except for the following for new projects and products: feasibility studies.
- Succession plans will be funded to a maximum of $15,000 over a period of two years.
- Program funding will only be offered on transactions (invoices) that do not involve a
supplier/service provider that is associated with the applicant, unless it is proven that an associated supplier/service provider is the only registered company providing that service in the area. In such cases that it is necessary to proceed with an associated supplier/service provider, the applicant must apply for pre-approval from Programs before proceeding or submitting a claim to ensure that the associated costs will be approved for reimbursement.
This includes $1 billion in federal programs and activities and a $2.5-billion commitment that is cost-shared 60% federally and 40% provincially/territorially for programs that are designed and delivered by provinces and territories.
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|---|---|---|---|
| Poultry and Egg On-Farm Investment Program | Grant | Non-repayable contributions of up to 70% of eligible project costs (up to 85% for young producers), limited to each producer's maximum funding amount based on their share of provincial quota/production | Open |
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| Export Development Program | Grant | Up to a maximum of $15,000 CAD of eligible costs per business, per fiscal year, increased by $10,000 (to $25,000 CAD) for eligible companies in Nova Scotia's six priority sectors with more than $100,000 in revenue actively entering new export markets | Open |
