REGINA — Some farmers in Alberta and Saskatchewan are receiving cash for their efforts at conservation.
They won’t be getting rich, but municipal officials hope tax incentives or rebates will encourage more farmers to adopt conservation practices.
Officials don’t want farmers to change their lifestyle, but make little changes like planting shelterbelts, creating wildlife habitat or improving crop residue.
Tim Dietzler, agricultural fieldman for the municipal district of Rocky View, near Calgary, said there was overwhelming response to the crop residue improvement program introduced last fall.
Read Also
Increasing farmland prices blamed on investors
a major tax and financial services firm says investors are driving up the value of farmland, preventing young farmers from entering the business. Robert Andjelic said that is bullshit.
“In our area, residue is a very acceptable way of dealing with soil erosion,” Dietzler said.
After seeding, a minimum of 30 percent of the soil surface must be covered by crop residue.
Within a week of seeding the field is checked and the farmer will receive a $150 tax rebate.
The three-year program was funded through an agreement with Rocky View and the Canada-Alberta Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture Agreement. There are enough funds to pay 160 farmers each year.
Dietzler said the Rocky View area is proactive when it comes to conservation practices. It has brought the amount of summerfallow in the area down from 13 percent in 1986 to eight. Field checks show as much as 70 percent of residue is still on some fields.
Cash back offer
In southern Alberta, the county of Warner offers cash back for shelterbelts, the development of farm conservation plans and salinity control.
In Saskatchewan, the rural municipality of Weyburn began with a shelterbelt incentive program and has since expanded its conservation efforts because of its popularity.
The new program partially pays for field shelterbelts, green manure, forage planting, wildlife habitat and grassed waterways. It also helps fund the upkeep of residences and yards.
“(Participants) are paid money up to the value of their taxes on that land,” said Maureen Clay of the Weyburn Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration office.
The $50,000 project is being delivered over a four-year term and funded through Innovative Partners, a Green Plan program.
There has been interest in similar types of programs in Manitoba, but no pilot programs are running yet, said Erv Griffin of the PFRA’s Winnipeg office.
The programs in both Rocky View and Weyburn will be reviewed after the pilot programs are through. A lack of federal funding may mean the programs don’t run any longer than the pilot period, said Dietzler.
