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2015 Program Description and Grant Management Process
1. About the Back to Ag Program
Every year, Canadian farmers and agricultural workers experience life-altering incidents,
such as paralysis or lost limbs. The Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA),
along with Farm Credit Canada (FCC), and the Rick Hansen Foundation (RHF) has
created the Back to Ag Program which will allow disabled farmers and agricultural
workers to apply for funding for the purchase of specialized equipment or adaptation of
existing equipment in order to get them back to farming safely.
The program objectives are to:
 Develop and manage a fund that will help farmers and ag workers who have
experienced a life altering incident resulting in a disability, return to work on the farm
safely.
The program awards funding based on the amount of funding available and a needs
assessment against pre-defined eligibility criteria and scoring systems.
2. Request for Applications
CASA is currently accepting applications from farmers and ag workers who have
experienced a life-altering incident resulting in a disability. They must demonstrate that
the purchase of specialized equipment or adaptation of existing equipment will help them
get back to work on the farm safely.
3. Submit an application
To complete an application form click here (application form). For guidelines to help
applicants complete the application form, click here (application form guidelines).
To be considered, all applications must be submitted by email or postmarked by
December 18th, 2015. Applications submitted after this deadline will not be considered.
4. Application deadline and timelines
November 12th, 2015
December 18th, 2015
January 29th, 2016
February 2nd, 2016
December 19th, 2016
Announcement of Back to Ag Program
Deadline for submission of applications
Grant recipients approved
Successful and unsuccessful applicants advised
Deadline for reports to be received by CASA
5. Amount of Funding Available
The Foundation has a minimum of $60,000 available to disburse for round three of the
2015-16 Back to Ag program.
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6. Maximum Grant Amount
The maximum grant amount per individual will not exceed $10,000. The amount of
funding will be determined based on the expenditures that are deemed eligible,
reasonable and appropriate for the successful execution and completion of the project.
The Application Review Committee will evaluate project costs using a costing guide and
may contact the vendor with additional questions. The Committee will review the costs
and scope of the project against the guide to ensure that proposals are reasonable and
to determine the amount of any grant.
7. Process and Procedures:
The following steps outline the Back to Ag Application process:
1. Application form guidelines, Program description, FAQ’s and application forms are
available to download at www.casa-acsa.ca and click on the “Grants” tab.
2. Applications can be filled out and emailed, mailed or faxed. Directions are on the
bottom of the application form.
3. Applications will be reviewed for eligibility and completeness by the CASA project
officer.
4. The CASA project officer will submit eligible applications to the Application Review
Committee and scored against assessment criteria.
5. The Application Review Committee (See Appendix A) will submit their scores to the
CASA project officer where they will be tabulated and ranked highest to lowest.
6. The Application Review Committee will meet, discuss and decide on award
recipients and put forward their recommendations to the FarmSafe Foundation
board. Farm Credit Canada and Rick Hansen Foundation will be notified prior to
notifying recipients.
7. All applicants will be notified whether they are successful or not. No requests for
information can be addressed during the application review period. Please consult
the website for status updates.
8. CASA will issue a grant agreement to the successful individual.
9. CASA will engage with the vendors directly and payment will be issued directly to
vendors upon receipt of invoices. Based on the understanding of the project and if
requested, a maximum of 25% of the total amount stated in the award letter may be
paid to the vendor at the start of the project. In cases where there are variances in
the actual cost of equipment vs the amount stated in the award letter, the maximum
paid will be the amount of the award letter.
10. As part of CASA’s accountability for program expenditures and stewardship to
donors, reporting has been developed for the Back to Ag program. The reporting will
measure the success of the program.
11. The recipient will be required to complete a short report including an evaluation of
the success of the program as well as photographs. Final reports must be submitted
within five months of the date of the award letter. A template will be provided by
CASA.
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8. Back to Ag Program Eligibility Criteria
Each application will be checked to ensure that it meets the following criteria.
Applications not meeting these criteria will not be submitted to the Application Review
Committee for further assessment.
a. Eligible application form:
i. Received or postmarked by December 18th, 2015.
ii. Completed application form i.e. no missing fields
iii. Amount requested does not exceed the maximum amount of $10,000
iv. Includes the following attachments:
 vendor quotations for all items and services
 A letter of support from a medical professional that specifically refers
to the project application
b. Eligible recipients:
i. Must be resident in Canada;
ii. 18 years or older at the time they submit the application. If age of majority is
not 18 in the province in which the applicant resides, the applicant must
submit parental/guardian consent.
iii. Experienced a life-altering incident resulting in a traumatic injury and would
like to return to work on the farm safely.
c. Eligible Project Activities and Expenditures:
i. Farming must be conducted in Canada ;
ii. Expenditures to be incurred after the signing of the award letter;
iii. Renovation, construction and retrofitting of out buildings or equipment
including but not limited to:
 Constructing an interior or exterior ramp;
 Installing wider doors or installing automated door openers;
 Raising or lowering sinks and/or counters in outbuilding;
 Building an accessible washroom in outbuilding;
 Installing accessible door handles and light switches;
 Installing an elevator or lift;
 Construction materials, supplies and related expenditures (i.e. trades);
 Leasing or purchasing of equipment for the purposes of retrofit,
modification, construction or renovation;
 Fence gate latches
iv. Retrofit and Modification of vehicles including but not limited to:
 Wheelchair and Tractor lifts;
 Hand controls;
 Modifications to Grain Augers, Combines
 Control modifications for Prosthesis
v. Provision of accessible information/communication technologies including but
not limited to:
 Speaker phones; Mobile technology software
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9. Ineligible Recipients & Projects
a. Ineligible recipients include, but are not limited to:
i.
Non Canadian residents;
ii.
Farmers who don’t plan to return to work on the farm.
iii.
Farm Credit Canada employees and CASA employees
iv.
Incident is not preventing the farmer from farming safely
v.
Previous recipient of the Back to Ag program
b. Ineligible Activities or Expenditures
The following projects or components of projects are NOT eligible:
i.
Activities carried out outside of Canada;
ii.
Activities that do not adhere to the mandatory project eligibility criteria
outlined here;
iii.
Expenditures incurred before the signing of the award letter;
iv.
Salaries and other employment benefits of any employees of the recipient;
v.
A recipient’s overhead expenditures, its direct or indirect operating or
administrative expenditures unrelated to an eligible product or service
delivery;
vi.
Cost of consultation and preparation of the application;
vii.
Expenditures associated with fundraising or raising additional funds for the
project
viii.
Expenditures of feasibility studies.
ix.
Activities or expenditures normally funded by existing Government Programs
or Insurance Coverage;
x.
Any expenditures for which the recipient or a third party is eligible for a
rebate;
xi.
Financing charges and interest expenditures;
xii.
Legal fees;
xiii.
Expenditures for medical and/or rehabilitation treatment.
10. Assessment Criteria
To be eligible for funding an applicant must first demonstrate that he/she meets the
mandatory eligibility criteria, i.e., the recipient, activities and expenditures are all eligible.
All eligible applications will then be scored by the review committee based on the extent
to which they satisfy each of the following assessment criteria:
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The ability of the applicant to use the technology in order to get back to
farming safely;
The project cost is reasonable and accurate for the work being performed;
The inability of the recipient to obtain funding from other sources;
The “Back to Ag” return to work solution must be comprehensible and
realistic.
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Note: Decisions made through the application process are in the absolute discretion of the
Application Review committee and are final and not subject to further appeal. Decisions
regarding grants may be influenced by the amount of funding available at the time an application
is received, how well the application meets all of the criteria and intent of the program and how
many other applicants might be helped by similar adaptive technology and the willingness of an
applicant to cooperate in promoting safety and program awareness.
11. Notification
All successful applicants will receive a phone call from the CASA Executive Director
followed by a grant agreement.
Unsuccessful applications will receive email notification of the committee’s decision.
12. Communications Protocol
CASA may ask recipients to provide additional information, quotes, and photographs
that illustrate how their grant has improved their quality of life. Such requests are
subject to consent of the recipient. Please see Application Form Part D, section 11 for
more information.
Many Back to Ag projects have the potential to obtain media coverage. It is important
that messaging remains consistent and that any media/public activities acknowledge that
the project was made possible as a result of the efforts of FCC, RHF and CASA and if
applicable, reflect the contributions of donors. The recipient will accept responsibility of
coordinating any project-related media opportunities with CASA.
13. Official Languages
The services offered by the program will respect the obligations pursuant to the Official
Languages Act. The program has the capacity to communicate and to serve the public
in both official languages and to respect language of worker rights and obligations.
General information about the program, and any notice, advertisement or other matter
relating to the program are available in both official languages; application forms,
application guidelines and FAQ’s are available in both official languages on the CASAACSA website.
14. For Further Information
Please refer to our FAQ’s and visit the CASA website for regular status updates.
CASA commits to contacting all successful and unsuccessful applicants with notification
of the decision. However, we regret that we are unable to address individual requests for
information.
Thank you for your interest in the Back to Ag program!
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Appendix A
Application Review Committee
Mandate
The Back to Ag Application Review Committee, established by the Canadian Agricultural Safety
Association (CASA), reviews projects being considered for funding under the Back to Ag
Program. The application review committee will review the applications, score and make a final
decision on Back to Ag recipients. The CASA board, FCC and RHF will also be notified of the
successful recipients prior to announcement. The Back to Ag Application Review Committee
operates at arm’s length from the CASA Board.
Participation/Qualifications
The number of participants on the committee shall not exceed 7 members.
The chairperson is selected by the members. Potential members will be approved by the CASA
Board.
The membership of the application review committee will include the following areas of
expertise and consideration will be given to regional and sectorial distribution.
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Farm operator
Proven health and safety specialists
Experienced grant committee representative
Bio-Systems engineering experience
Experienced occupational rehabilitation specialist
Insurance/Claims specialist
Experience agricultural workers with disabilities.