Innovation, education and regenerative agriculture
Foothills Forage is committed to helping you complete an Alberta Environmental Farm Plan (EFP): a process that helps you identify and address environmental risks and opportunities in your operation. The EFP will play a key part in:
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Safeguarding your local environment
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Building credibility for your operation with financial institutions and the community at large
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Sustaining the health and future of the agriculture industry
The EFP program provides you with a voluntary, confidential self-assessment process to evaluate the environmental risks and strengths of your operation and develop a plan to address those risks and strengths.
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Learn more about how agricultural practices affect the environment
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Learn more about management options that protect soil, water, air and habitat quality
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Identify what you are already doing well and where improvements can be made
To find out more about the Alberta Environmental Farm Plan, please visit www.albertaefp.com for specific details on the Alberta Farm Plan program and its resources.
Renewing Environmental Farm Plans
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It is recommend to update your EFP often, especially when you make major changes to your operation.
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Effective April 1, 2018, producers will need to have an EFP completion letter dated within the last 10 years, before payment will be issued, to be considered current and eligible for cost-share funding with the Farm Technology & Efficient Grain Handling programs of the Canadian Agriculture Partnership (CAP).
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If your completion letter is older than 10 years, you will need to do a new workbook and action plan.
Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP)
The Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) is a five-year, $3 billion federal-provincial-territorial investment in the agriculture, agri-food and agri-based products, and is the successor of the 2013-18 Growing Forward 2 partnership. In Alberta, the Canadian Agricultural Partnership represents a federal - provincial investment of $406 million in strategic programs and initiatives for the agricultural sector.
The roll-out of the Canadian Agricultural Partnership program suite in Alberta began in April 2018 and 15 programs will be phased over the spring, summer and fall of 2018. Applications and program details consisting of cost-shares and eligible activities and/or items will be released with the opening of each program. The criteria for eligibility will be made available along with the program details.
In Alberta, the Canadian Agricultural Partnership will deliver programs developed in consultation with stakeholders, and is organized under four themes: Efficient Grain Handling, Farm Technology, Market Assurance, and Water.
On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF)
First announced in Budget 2021, the $200-million On-Farm Climate Action Fund is an initiative to help farmers tackle climate change. The Fund is part of the Government of Canada's Agricultural Climate Solutions initiative, which falls under the $4 billion Natural Climate Solutions Fund, a program managed by Natural Resources Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
The program will provide 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.
The three activity categories in the OFCAF program are:
1. Improving Nitrogen Management
2. Increasing Adoption of Cover Cropping
3. Expanding the Adoption of Rotational Grazing
