The provincial government says the Department of Fisheries and Land Resources Limestone Program has not been cut.
Farmers have been speaking out in recent days indicating that they’ve been having trouble getting the limestone they need.
Clay Oates, a sod farmer, was one of a number of farmers who have raised the matter publicly in the last few days.
He says government is saying that no farmer will be without limestone for growing their turf sod, but as of earlier this week, he didn’t believe any farmer had yet received their limestone.
The Department says it is currently reviewing applications from farmers for 2019-20, and sod farmers were already informed that vegetable producers will be the priority for food security purposes.
Government says before any farmer receives a subsidy for limestone, soil testing is done to determine how much they will receive. Farmers pay $25 dollars a tonne for limestone (plus HST) with a minimum of 32 tonnes per purchase.
The department also pays the quarry $35 dollars a tonne plus shipping which depends on location. The quarry is near Deer Lake. That, says Oates, is part of the problem.
He says that will cost many sod farmers, most of whom are on the east coast, a lot more.