Sustainable Agriculture

Sustainable Agriculture

The Beaver County Agricultural Service Board strives to educate producers on the latest developments in sustainable agriculture and, provide opportunities for producers to make informative decisions to not only farm for today but for the future as well.  

 Some sustainable agriculture services provided by the Beaver County ASB are: 

  • Soil and water conservation programs 
  • Promote, advise, and assist producers in appropriate vegetation, soil, land, and water management to enhance the economic viability of producers within Beaver County under the ASB Act 
  • Information on shelterbelts and tree health 
  • Applied research and demonstration 
  • Coordination of programs which tie together Federal, Provincial, and Municipal governments 
  • Promote the needs and issues of local producers as they relate to government policies 

 

For information on upcoming workshops, please refer to the County’s Governance Calendar. 

Environmental Farm Plan

The Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) is an opportunity to assess areas of strength and potential environmental risks on a farming operation. It provides a farm with increased awareness of areas of potential environmental concern and helps outline site-specific, individualized plans to address, monitor or compensate these risks. It is voluntary and free, and it considers the farming operation as a whole. The EFP program offers all of this in an easy to use, flexible, online format.   

Effective April 1, 2018, producers will need to have an EFP completion letter dated within the last 10 years, of the date of application, to be considered current and eligible for cost-share funding with the Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change programs of the Sustainable Canadian Agriculture Partnership (CAP). 

If you would like assistance with: 

  • Completing a previous EFP that has been started, OR  
  • Starting a new online WebBook 

Please contact Jonathan Culbert at 780-663-3730 or by using the Agriculture option in the contact form.  

Additional information on the Environmental Farm Plan Program can be found at: http://www.albertaefp.com/ 

Funding Opportunities

Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) 

To support continued innovation, growth and prosperity, the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP) has launched its programs. This 5‐year (2023-2028), $3.5 billion investment includes $1 billion in federal programs and activities and $2.5 billion in cost-shared programs and activities by federal-provincial-territorial governments. The Sustainable CAP framework represents a cost-shared federal-provincial investment of $508 million over 5 years towards strategic programs and services for the agriculture and agri-food industry in Alberta.  

Subscribe to the quarterly newsletter using the form at the bottom of the webpage to keep up to date with Sustainable CAP info. 

Sustainable CAP

 

On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF) 

OFCAF provides financial support to producers to accelerate their adoption and implementation of on-farm Beneficial Management Practices (BMPs) to lower Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, support production efficiency, sustainability and resiliency on their farm operations. 

To assist producers with their adoption of new BMPs, the program will offer producers resources to support BMP implementation and provide BMP design recommendations. 

Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR) is a delivery partner, selected by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, to distribute funds associated with this program. 

For more information:

RDAR – OFCAF

 

Resilient Agricultural Landscape Program (RALP) 

The Resilient Agricultural Landscape Program’s (RALP) objective is to accelerate the adoption of Beneficial Management Practices (BMPs) that maximize provision of Ecological Goods & Services (EG&S), particularly increased carbon sequestration and enhanced climate resilience. 

Elgible projects that producers can apply for include pasture management, cropland conversion, tree establishment, and wetland protection. 

For more information on the program’s eligibility and criteria:

Resilient Agricultural Landscape Program