The federal government has no plans to make it compulsory, but agriculture minister Andy Mitchell hopes one day every Canadian farm will have a plan to protect the environment.
“Certainly, we would like to see every farm have an environmental farm plan,” Mitchell said in a June 10 interview. “My belief is that producers are good environmental stewards and as we provide resources, I think it is something they look forward to and want to do.”
Last week, Ottawa and the provinces announced agreement to begin committing environmental funds under the agricultural policy framework. A total of $662 million will be spent by March 31, 2008, some in federal cash and some through provincial in-kind administrative support.
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On the Prairies, more than $160 million will be spent in federal and provincial contributions, including almost $120 million in federal funding.
A key part of the APF environmental spending is to encourage farmers to prepare environmental farm plans. So far, more than 16,000 farm plans have been approved, setting out environmental problems and steps required to fix them.
The funding can total as much as $30,000 per farm that will cover up to half the costs and can range from grazing or nutrient management plans to improvements in runoff controls.
Some of the money will be spent to organize seminars and workshops for farmers where the environmental plan system will be explained and the process for creating a farm plan can be started.
Within each province, non-profit councils or companies have been created to deliver the programs.
The chair of the Alberta Environmental Farm Plan Co. said it will be an important boost for the farm and ranch sector.
“Farmers and ranchers will be given the opportunity to further enhance the stewardship of our farmlands,” Picture Butte turkey producer and feedlot owner John Kolk said in a News release
news announcing Alberta’s $80.8 million program.
Environmental improvements were one of the five areas outlined for coverage in the APF when it was developed in the years following agreement in principle at a 2001 federal-provincial ministers’ meeting in Whitehorse.
The Whitehorse declaration said ministers agreed to “a national action plan to make Canada the world leader in food safety, innovation and environmental protection.”
Then-agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief said the goal was to have an environmental plan for every farm within five years. It would allow Canada to brand its produce exports as food produced in the most environmentally responsible way possible.
Mitchell said the goal is still to have the environmental plan system as universal as possible.
“The whole environmental pillar is to make sure we operate the industry in an environmentally sound way,” he said. “The APF provides a vehicle to assist producers to do that but I don’t think we should forget that that is the instinctive goal of the vast, vast majority of producers. It is important for society, it is important for them from a business sense as they market their products. I’m hopeful we will (have universal farm plan coverage).”
