The Farmed Animal Disease Program (FAD) provides funding to the BC livestock and poultry industry to invest in planning, preparedness, prevention, and mitigation for federal or provincial regulated diseases or significant emerging farmed animal diseases.

The Farmed Animal Disease Program (FAD) is a three-year, up to $5M program funded by the Government of BC through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food (AF) and delivered by IAF.

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Overview

Approach

Eligibility

Application

Prioritization

Resources

Program Goals

The program aims to improve the level of planning, preparedness, prevention and mitigation of the BC agriculture sector to prevent and minimize impacts, and increase the sector’s preparedness and resilience, for significant farmed animal diseases.

Program Objectives

  • Improve planning for farmed animal disease incidents impacting the province through the creation of new plans, updating of existing plans, providing training on the use and implementation of plans, and conducting training exercises and drills to ensure the effectiveness of plans and further revise as necessary.
  • Improve response outcomes to animal disease incidents through increased availability of necessary resources and trained responders to manage responses and carryout required actions.
  • Increase the prevention and mitigation for farmed animal disease incidents to reduce their potential impact on producers and the province.

Approach

The program provides up to $250,000 for planning projects, and up to $500,000 for preparedness, prevention and mitigation projects. All projects can begin on or after June 23, 2023 and continue for up to 24 months in duration. Retroactive approval of costs incurred prior to project approval will not be considered. All projects must be completed no later than March 31, 2026. Projects may/will receive compensation for up to 100% of their eligible costs.

Funding Limits

Funding limits are set per stream per project. Applicants can apply to multiple streams, however they will need to apply for each stream separately and can only have a single project per stream underway at once. There is no lifetime maximum funding limit per applicant.

The funding limits are as follows:

Stream 1: Planning

  • Minimum of $25,000,
  • Maximum of $250,000.

Stream 2: Preparedness

  • Minimum of $25,000,
  • Maximum of $500,000.

Stream 3: Prevention & Mitigation

  • Minimum of $25,000,
  • Maximum of $500,000.

Eligibility Criteria

Stream 1: Planning

Eligible Participants

To be considered eligible for this program, an applicant must be located in the Province of British Columbia, and must be:

  • BC livestock and poultry industry associations or similar type organizations. Industry associations can apply on behalf of groups of individual producers.
  • Legal entities from BC livestock or poultry sectors that are not represented by an industry association, when applying on behalf of groups of individual producers.

Ineligible Participants

  • Individual producers, processors or other businesses
  • Researchers and/or universities
  • Marketing Boards
  • Non-farmed animal industry associations
  • Aquaculture, and fish farms
  • Equine producers or associations
  • Beekeepers or beekeeping associations

Eligible Activities and Expenses

Eligible activities and costs include the activities involved in planning, preparedness, prevention, and mitigation for federal or provincial regulated diseases or significant emerging farmed animal diseases. Eligible activities and expenses for Stream 1 include:

  • Hiring of staff or contractors to conduct planning activities,
  • Development/revision of an animal disease or hazard specific plan,
  • Training in the activation of the plan and exercising of plans.

Ineligible Activities and Expenses

  • In-kind expenses or costs
  • Financial compensation for livestock destroyed or lost income due to government destruction orders
  • GST and other taxes/credits reimbursed to applicant
  • Activities that are not compliant with federal, provincial or local regulations
  • Operational response costs incurred by producers

Stream 2: Preparedness

Eligible Participants

To be considered eligible for this program, an applicant must be located in the Province of British Columbia, and must be:

  • BC livestock and poultry industry associations or similar type organizations. Industry associations can apply on behalf of groups of individual producers.
  • Legal entities from BC livestock or poultry sectors that are not represented by an industry association, when applying on behalf of groups of individual producers.

Ineligible Participants

  • Individual producers, processors or other businesses
  • Researchers and/or universities
  • Marketing Boards
  • Non-farmed animal industry associations
  • Aquaculture, and fish farms
  • Equine producers or associations
  • Beekeepers or beekeeping associations

Eligible Activities and Expenses

Eligible activities and costs include the activities involved in planning, preparedness, prevention, and mitigation for federal or provincial regulated diseases or significant emerging farmed animal diseases. Eligible activities and expenses for Stream 2 include:

  • Procurement (purchase, rent, lease) of equipment for response,
  • Contracting out response activities,
  • Training and exercising to utilize existing/acquired response equipment,
  • Research of response options / methods, including procuring scientific, academic, or other research specialists to conduct research or advance new methods for improved disease outbreak response.

Ineligible Activities and Expenses

  • In-kind expenses or costs
  • Financial compensation for livestock destroyed or lost income due to government destruction orders
  • GST and other taxes/credits reimbursed to applicant
  • Activities that are not compliant with federal, provincial or local regulations
  • Operational response costs incurred by producers

Stream 3: Prevention & Mitigation

Eligible Participants

To be considered eligible for this program, an applicant must be located in the Province of British Columbia, and must be:

  • BC livestock and poultry industry associations or similar type organizations. Industry associations can apply on behalf of groups of individual producers.
  • Legal entities from BC livestock or poultry sectors that are not represented by an industry association, when applying on behalf of groups of individual producers.

Ineligible Participants

  • Individual producers, processors or other businesses
  • Researchers and/or universities
  • Marketing Boards
  • Non-farmed animal industry associations
  • Aquaculture, and fish farms
  • Equine producers or associations
  • Beekeepers or beekeeping associations

Eligible Activities and Expenses

Eligible activities and costs include the activities involved in planning, preparedness, prevention, and mitigation for federal or provincial regulated diseases or significant emerging farmed animal diseases. Eligible activities and expenses for Stream 3 include:

  • Research of prevention / mitigation strategies, including procuring scientific, academic, or other research specialists to conduct research or advance new methods for prevention or risk reduction.
  • Mitigation and Biosecurity practices to reduce risk of disease incursion or spread.

Ineligible Activities and Expenses

  • In-kind expenses or costs
  • Financial compensation for livestock destroyed or lost income due to government destruction orders
  • GST and other taxes/credits reimbursed to applicant
  • Activities that are not compliant with federal, provincial or local regulations
  • Operational response costs incurred by producers

Application Details

Important Dates

Thank you to everyone that applied to the Farmed Disease Program!

As a result of the tremendous industry response, the total funding requested exceeds the available program funds. This program is no longer accepting applications at this time. Please sign up for the newsletter to stay up to date on future opportunities.

Project Start Date on or after: June 23, 2023

Application Process

Applicants will apply through the IAF Client Portal. The application process will consist of:

  • Create a personal profile (name and email)

  • Organization information, including:
    • Name
    • Contact details
    • Type of organization
    • BC ID / CRA numbers
    • Primary contact
    • and more

NOTE: It can take up to two business days for IAF Staff to verify your Organization Registration.

Select Farmed Animal Disease Program from Funding Opportunities, and provide:

  • Applicant type / sector representation
  • Project start & end dates
  • Animal Disease / Hazard information
  • Funding Stream
  • Select project activities from the eligible activities list
  • Provide description of key activities, who will undertake work, and timeline
  • Alignment with program priorities
  • Performance measurement information
  • Funding request / project budget

Applicants may provide supplementary materials in support of their application (e.g. letters of support, CV’s, quotes). These appendices can be uploaded through the IAF Client Portal as attachments to the application.

IAF staff are available to answer questions regarding eligible activities, costs and/or the application process. IAF may also contact applicants for additional information or clarification to assess or strengthen their application.

Applicants can contact fad(at)iafbc.ca with any questions about the program or to receive support in developing their application.

Applicants are encouraged to include only activities they are confident will be completed on time and within budget limits.

Need help with IAF’s Client Portal?

We’ve created a number of tutorials and FAQs about the IAF Client Portal to help you navigate this resource successfully.

Review and Adjudication

IAF will accept applications on a continuous basis with review and adjudication in batches.  After each review date, IAF will review all applications received in the batch and evaluate against the prioritization criteria found in Prioritization Criteria. Applications that best align with the prioritization criteria will be offered funding first. Applications will be considered in batches until all available funding is committed.

Applications that are not successful will not be brought forward to the next review batch and applications will need to re-apply for future consideration. Adjudication decisions are final.

Notifications & Obligations

Funding Notifications & Contracts

If the project is approved, IAF will inform the applicant of the details of the decision and any associated terms and conditions. The applicant then enters into an agreement with IAF which outlines the obligations of each party.

Funding is application and project-specific and must be used for the approved project and related expenses. Funds are non-transferable.

Project activities requiring financial resources cannot commence until the contribution agreement has been signed by both the applicant and IAF. All project activities and expenditures must be approved prior to commencing – retroactive costs will not be considered.

Funding decisions will be issued one month after each review batch deadline. Projects may begin on or after this date. For example, projects submitted prior to the May 23, 2023 deadline may begin on or after June 23, 2023. All projects must be completed within 24 months of starting and all projects approved through the program must complete by March 31, 2026. If the project is not approved, the applicant will receive a written response from IAF.

Changes to Contracted Projects

If you are not able to complete your project or require a change, please inform the IAF Team as soon as possible using the IAF Client Portal.

Funding Acknowledgement

This program is funded by the Government of BC, as such acknowledgement of funding is required when publicly communicating about a project and/or funding. To ensure appropriate acknowledgement, all communications and marketing materials, including public announcements or social media posts, must be pre-approved by the IAF Communications Team. Materials can be submitted via the IAF Client Portal.

Reporting Requirements

Successful applicants must complete one or more activity and financial reports to receive payment from the program. This report must be filled out and submitted to IAF to be considered for funding reimbursement. It is important that reporting is submitted on time and with all required information. Please retain all invoices and receipts, you may be asked to submit some or all receipt/invoices following a review of your final report by the IAF Team. Expenses will be reimbursed based on audited receipts, and the approved project budget. All reporting will be completed via the IAF Client Portal.

Prioritization Criteria

All applications will be evaluated based on a set of pre-determined criteria. Depending on the Stream and focus of the project, applications will be prioritized for funding based on their alignment with the following criteria statements:

Prioritization Criteria for All Applications to Stream 1: Planning

The Application is focused on avian influenza, foot and mouth disease, or African swine fever.
The Application includes an evaluation of if and how the outputs generated from the project could be deployed to support preparedness for other pathogens/hazards and/or in other commodities.

Priorities for Plan Development or Revision
The Application describes how the Farmed Animal Disease or Hazard Specific (FAD/HS) Plan produced in the project (key output) will identify a Lead Industry Organization for Preparedness and Response (LIOPR).
The Application demonstrates that the FAD/HS Plan to be produced will include a Governance Model that includes a 10-year organizational management and operational plan, along with a 10-year Financial Sustainability Plan for the LIOPR.
The Application demonstrates that the FAD/HS Plan to be produced will support a) a response capacity building phase, and b) a response capacity maintenance phase with timelines for each phase and risks to timelines.

Priorities for Training or Exercising Plans
The Application is for training or exercising of a LIOPR FAD/HS Plan.
The Application includes a training or exercise plan that shows how the project will evaluate and act on relevant outcomes.

Prioritization for All Application to Stream 2: Preparedness

The Application requests goods and services or research that is identified in a Lead Industry Organization for Preparedness and Response (LIOPR) Farmed Animal Disease or Hazard Specific (FAD/HS) Plan.
The Application is focused on avian influenza, foot and mouth disease, or African swine fever.
The Application includes an evaluation of if/how the outputs generated from the project could be deployed to support preparedness for other pathogens or hazards and/or in other commodities.

Priorities for Procurement and Contracting
The Application for procurement, contracting, and training exercises for depopulation is focused on atmospheric modification (CO2, nitrogen, or mixed gasses), stunning, or drug induced loss of consciousness, and includes an analysis of animal welfare and probable or known acceptability of the method to regulators.
The Application for procurement, contracting, or training exercises for depopulation, disposal, biocontainment, surveillance, or other response tools includes an analysis of efficacy, cost-benefit, regulatory issues, worker safety and practicality for use in BC in the intended commodity.

Priorities for Research and Development
The Application to research, develop or evaluate novel depopulation, disposal, biocontainment, surveillance, or other response tools includes a research plan that shows how the project will evaluate relevant outcomes such as animal welfare, efficacy, cost-benefit, regulatory issues, worker safety and practicality for use in BC.

Prioritization Criteria for All Applications to Stream 3: Prevention & Mitigation

The Application is focused on avian influenza, foot and mouth disease, or African swine fever.
The Application includes an evaluation of if and how the outputs generated from the project could be deployed to support prevention and mitigation for other pathogens or hazards and/or in other commodities.

Priorities for Procurement and Contracting
The Application to purchase goods or services for prevention and mitigation includes an analysis of efficacy, cost-benefit, regulatory issues, worker safety and practicality for use in BC in the intended commodity.

Priorities for Research and Development
The Application to research novel prevention and mitigation tools and strategies includes a research plan that shows how the project will evaluate efficacy, cost-benefit, regulatory issues, worker safety and practicality for use in BC in the intended commodity.

Ready to Apply?

 This program is no longer accepting applications at this time.

Resources

FAQ

Your organization must register through the IAF Client Portal to apply to IAF programs. Please note, if you have not already registered, this process can take up to 2 business days and must be completed before the application deadline.

Upon signing of the Contribution Agreement, 50% of project funds will be released. IAF reserves the right to provide an alternate amount (i.e. less than 50%) based on risk assessments.

Final payments will be made based on actual expenses reported and payments will be made in arrears. All projects will require a final report and the final payment will be retained pending submission of final reporting.

You have a maximum of 24 months to complete your project. All projects must be completed by March 31, 2026.

No, GST is not eligible for reimbursement.

Have a Question?

Contact the IAF Team

Information Session Recording

Farmed Animal Disease Program Guide

Download the Farmed Animal Disease Program Guide.

Funding Acknowledgement Requirements

Download the Funding Acknowledgement Requirements for the Farmed Animal Disease Program.

Have a Current Project?

Please visit the program’s Project Resource Hub for more information.

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We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food.