The new environmental farm plan in Manitoba is not all that new, according to the province’s agriculture minister.
“It’s a continuation of the previous program,” said Rosann Wowchuk.
“It’s very much the same program, but it’s being delivered in a different way now.”
On Sept. 1, Manitoba Agriculture officially launched the
Environmental Farm Action Program, which features financial incentives
to encourage producers to adopt Beneficial Management Practices.
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The initiative is part of the Growing Forward program, which is jointly funded by federal and provincial governments.
The biggest difference with the new version of the environmental
farm plan is that it will be administered by Manitoba Agriculture
employees through the Agri-Environment Knowledge Centre.
Previously, the Farm Stewardship Association of Manitoba ran the program.
Certified environmental farm plans through FSAM will be considered
valid for the new program for five years after the date of issue.
But eligible farmers will still have to apply to the government to get approval for their proposed plan.
“You have to make an application and indicate how you are planning to use the money,” Wowchuk said.
The application deadline for the first round of applications is
Sept. 15. The next deadline is Nov. 1, followed by Feb. 1, April 1 and
June 1.
Financial incentives will be available for 20 BMPs and the Growing Forward agreement runs until March 31, 2013.
Approximately $20 million in funding is available during the life of
the agreement, whereas the previous program had funding of
approximately $40 million over a period of five years.
