Almost half of Manitoba’s agricultural land is now covered by farmers’ Environmental Farm Plans (EFPs), the federal and provincial governments reported Friday.
Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and provincial Ag Minister Rosann Wowchuk announced that over 5,000 farmers had completed EFPs, representing eight million acres or almost 50 per cent of all Manitoba agricultural land.
The program goal had been to have 8,000 EFPs completed in Manitoba by the end of March 2008.
Wowchuk said it was “gratifying to see so many farmers taking advantage of EFPs that help producers implement sound environmental practices.”
Read Also
U.S. livestock: Cattle futures come down from highs
Cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange were weaker on Monday, coming down from recent highs.
EFPs are billed as voluntary, confidential self-assessment tools for farmers to “raise awareness about environmental opportunities and risks” on their farms. Farmers develop their own plans, with the help of a facilitator and peer review committee, for management practices that will reduce environmental risk on the farm.
A completed EFP is also a requirement for any farmer who wants to apply for cost-shared funding and/or technical assistance to introduce new environmental best management practices (BMPs) on his or her farm. Examples of eligible BMPs include improved manure storage and handling, erosion control structures and improved cropping systems.
Alberta announced last month that over 7,000 farmers in that province had so far completed EFPs, ahead of a target of 6,500 for 2007-08. Saskatchewan, which had a goal of 6,500 completed plans for March 2008, announced in September that it has 9,000 farms with completed EFPs and now expects close to 10,000 by March 31.
