Farm stewardship expansion program benefits producers

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

The Canada-Saskatchewan Farm Stewardship Program, which provides producers with financial assistance to maintain or improve the quality of soil, water, air and biodiversity, has recently made several additions to its list of �Beneficial Management Practices� eligible for funding.� Producers who have completed an Environmental Farm Plan�or those who have been part of an Agri-Environmental Group Plan�are eligible for funding under this program.

The Farm Stewardship Program began in 2005 as a component of the Agricultural Policy Framework.� Its objective is to accelerate the adoption of beneficial management practices to create positive environmental changes in farming methods.

A beneficial management practice is defined as one which:

1. ensures the long-term health and sustainability of land-related resources used for agricultural production;
2. benefits the long-term economic and environmental viability of the agriculture industry; and
3. minimizes negative impacts and risk to the environment.

According to Wayne Gosselin, Environmental Policy Specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food (SAF), more than 8,500 farm units have attended environmental farm planning workshops over the past two years.� As a result, �over 5,000 environmental farm plans were filed, and more than 4,000 projects were approved for funding to the end of 2006,� Gosselin said.

The Farm Stewardship Program now provides up to $50,000 of funding, covering 30 to 50 per cent of eligible costs, for approved projects where producers invest in adopting any of the identified beneficial management practices, up from the original $30,000 cost-sharing cap.

Changes to the program that came into effect in November 2006 allow the labour rate for in-kind contributions by producers to increase to $15 per hour.

Another significant change is the addition of several new beneficial management practices to the program list.� Those of most interest include: costs of removing underground fuel storage tanks; removal of the acreage limit for forage establishment on saline or erodible land; inclusion of gang- and shank-mounted on-row packers as an eligible item for conversion to low-disturbance direct seeding; and inclusion of costs for protection of biodiversity, for mapping, and for consulting related to First Nations Traditional Land Use.

Gosselin said, �These are changes that were requested by producers, and have been approved by the national committee,� which establishes the approved list of practices for the program.

Producers who are interested in participating in the program, or would like more information, can call the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Client Service Centre at 1-800-667-8567, or check the program information on the SAF website at www.agr.gov.sk.ca/docs/programs_services/APF_environment.asp.

For more information, contact:
Jason Fradette, Regional Ag-Land and Agroforestry Manager
Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration
Phone: (306) 975-4663
E-mail: fradettej@agr.gc.ca