May 1, 2014 – Regina, Saskatchewan – Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Today, Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart announced improvements to the Farm Stewardship Program. The program provides support for producers to adopt beneficial management practices that maintain or improve the quality of soil, water, air or biodiversity resources.
"Farmers and producers have always been excellent stewards of our land, air and water resources," said Minister Ritz. "The changes being made to this program will enable them to continue producing high-quality agricultural products in a way that is both environmentally responsible and sustainable in the long term."
"The Farm Stewardship Program recognizes that good environmental practices and a successful agriculture sector go hand-in-hand," Stewart said. "Saskatchewan producers continue to be leaders in environmental stewardship and these improvements will help the industry continue to grow."
The Farm Stewardship Program, with an annual budget of $4.6 million, provides eligible Saskatchewan producers assistance to implement practices that ensure the long-term health and sustainability of their operations, positively impact economic and environmental viability and minimize negative impacts and risk to the environment.
New beneficial management practices added to the Farm Stewardship Program will increase focus on important areas such as precision farming and land management. These include:
- Riparian area grazing management and fencing: funding 50 per cent of eligible costs (fencing and labour to establish riparian area grazing paddocks) to a maximum rebate of $5,000.
- Used oil, filter and fluid storage: funding 50 per cent of eligible costs (engineering and construction of berm and pad for storage area) to a maximum rebate of $3,000.
- Variable rate irrigation technology: funding 30 per cent of eligible costs (equipment to enable variable rate irrigation) to a maximum rebate of $15,000.
- Variable rate mapping: funding 30 per cent of eligible costs (consulting fees to create zone maps for variable rate fertilizer and/or variable rate irrigation application) to a maximum rebate of $2,000.
Funding for the Farm Stewardship Program is provided under the federal-provincial Growing Forward 2 framework, which will see the two levels of government invest $388 million in Saskatchewan on strategic initiatives over five years.
For more information on the program and Growing Forward 2, please visit the Saskatchewan Agriculture website at www.saskatchewan.ca/GrowingForward2.
For more information, contact:
Media Relations
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
613-773-7972
1-866-345-7972
Follow us on Twitter: @AAFC_Canada
Jeff English
Director of Communications
Office of the Honourable Gerry Ritz
613-773-1059
Angela Hall
Agriculture
Regina
306-787-2359
306-527-0521 (Cellular)
angela.hall@gov.sk.ca
