OFA Commentary #1605
Ontario farmers have always had a strong urge to do everything possible to preserve and protect the environment. Now there’s additional financial incentive to get that work done.
Recently our Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Hon. Andy Mitchell, announced $57.2 million would be provided for the planning and delivery of Environmental Farm Plans on Ontario farms. Of that amount, $43 million will be used by farmers under the Canada-Ontario Farm Stewardship Program for on-farm projects.
The Ontario Federation of Agriculture is proud to be part of the delivery structure for this funding. The Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association will work with farmers through their local co-ordinators to plan projects and deliver the funding.
Farmers wanting to add to an earlier Environmental Farm Plan or get into the program for the first time need to contact the local co-ordinator. Next they will complete the EFP workbook, identify areas of environmental risk on their farms and get the necessary approvals to reduce or eliminate those risks, and get the work done.
This new EFP program is different because it will accept a farmer’s own labour and equipment use for the remedial work as part of the cost.
The EFP program has existed in Ontario for a dozen years and more than 27,000 farmers have enrolled – many already completing the initial programs. With the additional funding now available and the opportunity for a farmer to charge his own labour and equipment to the project, organizers anticipate a lot more interest and uptake by producers.
Each farming entity is eligible for up to $30,000 in federal funding for projects identified in the EFP action plan. These projects must be identified on an approved list of best management practices. Depending on the category identification, each project is subject to a 30 per cent or 50 per cent cost sharing level.
The listing of Best Management Practices that will determine eligibility contains more than 25 different categories. The local co-ordinators will work with individual farmers to find the most appropriate project categories for their own EFP.
The delivery of the EFP program will be co-ordinated with other related federal and provincial environmental initiatives. Included in this initiative will be the 20 million dollars identified previously by the Ontario Government for funding of Nutrient Management projects by Ontario farmers.
Encouraging news was delivered at the April meeting of the OFA Board of Directors. Since the Nutrient Management Act and its associated regulations were announced, farmers and their organizations have been asking for revisions to make it a risk-based initiative.
Now we’re told that government officials have been listening to our requests, and a number of draft changes have been developed for the Nutrient Management regulations. Those draft changes will be reviewed by farm organizations, and implemented as agreed.
It’s encouraging for OFA and its partner organizations in the Ontario Farm Environmental Coalition to see some positive results for their lobbying efforts. We realize the need for a provincial set of regulations to govern nutrient management initiatives, and now it appears we’re moving toward regulations that will be meaningful and workable.
~Geri Kamenz~
Vice-President, Ontario Federation of Agriculture