On a neatly manicured dairy farm just east of here in Bruce County, Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food (AAFC), Hon. Andy Mitchell, announced more than $57 million in funding for the next generation of Environmental Farm Plans for Ontario farmers on Saturday, April 16.
In announcing the funding, Minister Mitchell acknowledged the difficult financial times Canadian farmers have been experiencing in recent years, and said the government “wants to provide producers with the necessary liquidity” to be able to protect the environment while conducting their farming operations.
The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) signed the agreement with AAFC for the delivery of the new program. “For more than a dozen years Ontario farmers have embraced environmental farm plans, and have rallied behind this program that was designed by farmers, for farmers, and delivered by farmers,” said OFA President Ron Bonnett.
One of the strengths of the EFP program is the way it works with individual farmers to identify environmental risks on their farms and then develops solutions that will provide maximum protection for the environment, Bonnett said. “This new program will provide up to $30,000 for individual farmers to take remedial steps on their farms,” he said.
Another key element of this new program, Bonnett said, is that it will permit farmers to contribute their own labour and equipment as part of the agreement. “This will help farmers gain confidence in how the new program is administered,” he said.
MPP Carol Mitchell (Huron-Bruce), Parliamentary Assistant to Hon. Steve Peters, Minister of Agriculture and Food, said the Ontario government wants Ontario farmers to continue as leaders in environmental stewardship. MP Paul Steckle (Huron-Bruce) chaired the ceremony on the farm of Ralph and Jane Dietrich, and told those attending: “By providing financial incentives to adopt beneficial management practices, the Government of Canada supports farmers’ efforts to reduce the risk to the environment from agricultural operations, which benefits all Canadians.”
The Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association will deliver the new program on behalf of the Ontario Farm Environmental Coalition which includes OFA, the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario, the Ontario Farm Animal Council, and AGCare (Agricultural Groups Concerned About Resources and the Environment).
~Ron Bonnett~
President, Ontario Federation of Agriculture