Canada’s Saskatchewan supports runoff control for cattle farmers

On July 13, Canada’s Saskatchewan province announced new support for agricultural management practices under the Farm Stewardship Program. Cow-calf producers in the area can now receive significant funding for runoff control measures.

Eligible beef cow-calf producers can now access cost-shared funding of up to 75 per cent of project costs, with a maximum funding of $15,000, for the development of preventative runoff control efforts. Eligible projects include holding or retention ponds for collecting run-off, ditches, berms or dykes, and earthwork or pen regrading to achieve proper run-off.

"As stewards of the land, producers take their responsibility to protect water sources seriously," Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister David Marit said. "This program will provide additional funding for Saskatchewan cow-calf producers and assist them with making improvements to their operations."

The Farm Stewardship Program regularly provides Saskatchewan producers funding to implement BMPs in three priority areas - water quality, climate change and biodiversity. This newest BMP support will encourage beef producers to implement surface water protection on cow-calf operations.

The Farm Stewardship Program is funded through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a five-year, $3 billion investment by federal, provincial and territorial governments to strengthen and grow Canada's agriculture, agri-food and agri-products sectors. This includes a $2 billion commitment that is cost-shared 60 per cent federally and 40 per cent provincially/territorially for programs that are designed and delivered by provinces and territories. More than $155 million of this funding comes from the Government of Saskatchewan.

SOURCE: Saskatchewan, Canada