Paige Desmond
There isn’t much time left for district farmers hoping to get funding assistance through the Environmental Farm Plan initiative for environmental projects on their farms.
The program, as it is known now, will not exist as of 2009 when “Growing Forward,” the new agricultural policy framework, is implemented, noted Dick Trivers, local EFP rep for the Ontario Soil and Crop Association.
“I think it’s been a real good program,” he said of the EFP, whose goal is to help farmers identify and address areas of environmental improvement on their farms.
The third edition of the EFP workshop will be held next Wednesday (Oct. 15) and again on Wednesday, Oct. 22 from 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Emo Legion.
According to its website, the three main goals for the program are “to help the agriculture sector better identify its impacts on the environment, promoting the growth of stewardship activities within the agriculture industry and [supporting] the environmental objectives of the federal-provincial-territorial Agricultural Policy Framework.”
The EFP is delivered through two sessions. The first has participants go through a workbook which looks at all the aspects of their farming operation, identifying up to 23 areas that “may not be up to what they should feel comfortable with as an environmental concern,” said Trivers.
The farmers then develop a plan to go from a situation of “poor” environmental impact to a decreased risk situation, he added.
“The EFP gives farmers the due diligence that they need to protect themselves these days [from environmental issues],” former EFP rep Stefan Szeder remarked.
The workbook session makes up day one of the program, which Trivers said is a four- to five-hour process of evaluation. Participants also can take the workbook home for completion.
With the plan in place, Trivers said, “there are some financial incentives” to assist participants with the improvements using a cost-share approach. Funding amounts range from 30-50 percent of the total cost of the changes, with only certain plans being eligible.
“There’s about 30 different management packages that do qualify for assistance,” he explained. “The whole situation is capped out by category or total per farm unit.”
As well, farmers must be registered with the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario, or National Farmers Union (Ontario), or have an exemption from these requirements due to religious reasons, in order to be eligible.
However, as agriculture sees declining profits and increased challenges, Szeder said it can be difficult to convince farmers to pay the money out of pocket and invest in environmental projects.
“It’s a challenge up here to convince farmers that they should spend money on their farms [for environmental management practices],” he admitted.
“We’re kind of at a disadvantage,” he added. “In the North here, we don’t have a conservation authority” which would help offset some of the cost.
With that in mind, those interested must have their workbooks and applications for funding to Trivers no later than Dec. 15 of this year as the program will be revamped under “Growing Forward” in 2009,
“It will be winding up this December,” Trivers said of the EFP.
To those hesitant to get involved because of privacy concerns, Trivers reiterated that the OSCIA is not a government organization and this program works different than other evaluations because it is self-initiated.
“You can self-identify,” he stressed. “It’s not like it’s someone coming in and telling you that you have to do this.”
Trivers hopes that after a crazy season this year, referring to farm income and the weather, farmers will see the value in environmental upgrades and take part in this program.
“It’s actually been quite good over the years,” he said.
Szeder also encouraged farmers not to be intimidated, or get too excited and take on projects they cannot afford.
“Start with one, one small project at a time,” he stressed. “Every small step forward is a step forward.”
Those who have participated in the workshop process once already do not have to attend again to take advantage of the EFP.
“Anyone who has completed the farm planning process within the past three years does not have to attend the workshop [to submit a plan],” Trivers remarked.
Between April 1 and Aug. 22 of this year, 67 EFP workshops involving 676 participants have been held in Ontario. This has resulted in 958 peer-reviewed plans being deemed appropriate, according to the OSCIA’s website.
To register for the EFP workshop, contact Trivers at 274-2930 or 276-0589, or e-mail rainyriver@ontariosoilcrop.org
