Paige Desmond
After a disappointing response caused the first Environmental Farm Planning workshop scheduled for last Wednesday to be cancelled, local Ontario Soil and Crop Association rep Dick Trivers said the session planned for tomorrow (Oct. 22) is still on.
Trivers received no registrants for last week’s session and is worried local farmers might miss their chance to participate in the EFP workshop.
Initially intended to be a two-day session, Trivers has adapted the schedule.
“We’re doing day one this week,” he explained, meaning the entire workshop, which runs from 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Emo Legion, will be squeezed into one day.
Farmers who do not complete the workshop will not be able to prepare an Environmental Farm Plan that qualifies for funding unless they have participated in a past EFP workshop.
Participants must complete a workbook during the session, which looks at all aspects of their farming operation and identifies up to 23 areas which may need to be improved.
The farmers then develop a plan for each area to take it from a rating of poor to a decreased risk situation.
Once these plans are in place, farmers then can apply for government funding ranging from 30-50 percent.
To be eligible for this funding, farmers must be registered with the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario, or National Farmers Union (Ontario), or have an exemption from these requirements due to religious reasons.
The deadline for EFP applications for funding is Dec. 15 so Trivers said local farmers must attend tomorrow’s session if they hope to be involved.
A plus of the EFP is that farmers identify the problems and solutions on their own, without someone telling them what to do on their farm, said Trivers.
To register for tomorrow’s workshop, contact Trivers at 274-2930 or 276-0589, or via e-mail at rainyriver@ontariosoilcrop.org
