OVER $57 MILLION IN FUNDING FOR
ENVIRONMENTAL FARM PLAN
by AGCare (Agricultural Crops Concerned About Resources and the Environment)

Just in time for Earth Day, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food (AAFC), Andy Mitchell, announced over $57 million in funding to help Ontario farmers expand their environmental stewardship activities through the Canada-Ontario Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) and the Canada-Ontario Farm Stewardship Program.

"Ontario's farmers created the Environmental Farm Plan program originally in 1992. The program has evolved with the times, and we are very proud that over 27,000 Ontario farmers have voluntarily participated in the program, committing time and money to effective stewardship projects, while learning about environmental protection on their farms," stated AGCare Chair, Brian Besley.

The programs are part of the environment chapter of the federal-provincial-territorial Agricultural Policy Framework (APF).

As with the previous editions of the EFP, the program will be managed by the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA), on behalf of the Ontario Farm Environmental Coalition (OFEC), which includes AGCare, Christian Farmers' Federation of Ontario, Ontario Farm Animal Council, and Ontario Federation of Agriculture.

"Farmers are excellent environmental stewards. We intimately know how important it is to look after our land, water, and air quality because our livelihood and family depend on the health of our environment," stated Besley.

The OSCIA has engaged local program representatives to deliver the Third Edition EFP Workbook and EFP workshops will be announced in the coming weeks. Trained facilitators and technical assistants will be available at these sessions to help producers complete their risk assessments and action plans.

Once producers have a peer-reviewed EFP, they are eligible to apply for financial assistance under the Canada-Ontario Farm Stewardship Program to help with the implementation of specific beneficial management practices (BMPs). In Ontario, producers can choose from 25 categories of BMPs designed to reduce environmental risks. The program will cost-share either 30% or 50% of the eligible costs of implementation, depending on the BMP, up to a maximum of $30,000. In-kind contributions will be considered as part of the farmer's contribution to each project, subject to detailed guidelines currently under development.

The cost-share funding may be retroactive for eligible projects developed after April 1, 2004 by producers who participated in an EFP workshop between 1993 and April 2004 and had their EFP action plan peer reviewed and deemed appropriate. Eligible projects must appear on the national list of BMPs and be identified in the participant's peer reviewed action plan. All project proposal applications received after March 31, 2006 will require a Third Edition EFP action plan deemed appropriate through peer review. The program will end on March 31, 2008, or when the funds have been completely allocated, whichever comes first. Information on the programs and a full listing of eligible projects are available from OSCIA at 519-826-4214 or www.ontariosoilcrop.org/EFP/EFP.htm. Look out for a workshop in your area coming soon!