Saskatchewan has ended its Environmental Farm Plan program, saying it was outdated and underused.
Agriculture minister Daryl Harrison said uptake in the 20-year-old program was low, especially in the last couple of years.
“It got stagnant, if I can term it that way,” he told reporters at the Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference in Saskatoon.
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The ministry consulted with stakeholders and has a new program in place, he said.
The Agri-Environmental Risk Assessment better meets producer needs, he said. It is available online and is more aligned to today’s production methods.
“I just found out this morning that there’s a little over 200 producers already signed up and completed their training, so it’s a good start to this new program,” he said Jan. 29.
Each province has its own EFP program, and the ministry said producers did not receive money from it. It was instead an eligibility requirement to access other cost-shared programs under the agricultural policy frameworks.
That requirement no longer exists.
The program was established in 2005 and since 2018, producers could use alternative ways to access programs.
According to Statistics Canada, 37 per cent of Canadian farmers had an EFP in 2021. Quebec farmers had the highest uptake at 76 per cent, followed by Prince Edward Island at 68 per cent.
On the Prairies, 25 per cent of Alberta farmers, 23 per cent of Saskatchewan farmers and 27 per cent of Manitoba farmers had plans. Those who didn’t cited various reasons, including that it’s too complicated and time consuming. There were also concerns about privacy and lack of information.
Saskatchewan’s new program evaluates soil and nutrient management practices, crop and pest management, water, biodiversity and land use, farm input handling and storage, waste, byproducts, pollution and energy efficiency, and livestock and feed management.
Each category contains a number of management practices that producers can undertake after identifying the opportunities on their farms. However, there is no information about what financial support is available, cost-sharing or workshops.
Other environmental programs include the Farm and Ranch Water Infrastructure Program, the irrigation program and the Resilient Agricultural Landscapes Program.
Producers who had participated in the former EFP program can access their archived documents by contacting the province’s Ag Knowledge Centre.
Contact karen.briere@producer.com
