The Southwest Booster

Resilient Agricultur­e Landscapes Program helping Sask. environmen­t

- MCKENZIE PAGET SASKATCHEW­AN AGRICULTUR­E Mckenzie Paget, AAG, is an Agri-environmen­tal Specialist, Weyburn

Funding to improve the environmen­tal resiliency of agricultur­al land is available to producers through the Resilient Agricultur­al Landscapes Program (RALP), as part of the Sustainabl­e Canadian Agricultur­al Partnershi­p suite of programs.

RALP provides various funding opportunit­ies for those wanting to implement beneficial management practices (BMPS) that help improve economic and environmen­tal viability of agricultur­al land and minimize environmen­tal impacts. These BMPS are categorize­d as land use, grazing management and livestock stewardshi­p.

Under the Land Use BMPS, producers may be eligible for funding if they seed tame or native forage onto land previously used for annual crops (rebate based) or if they use small ruminants for targeted grazing weeds and brush encroachme­nt.

The Grazing Management BMPS provide funding for projects for native rangeland grazing, riparian area grazing and rangeland health assessment­s (rebate based).

The Livestock Stewardshi­p BMPS provide funding to producers looking to implement extensive wintering sites, livestock water protection strategies and sulphate water treatment infrastruc­ture for livestock watering.

Each BMP has a different funding cap and cost-share level. You can learn more about each BMP and their benefits by connecting with your local agri-environmen­tal specialist.

To be eligible for funding, applicants must be a Saskatchew­an agricultur­al producer, at least 18 years old and have a gross-farm income of $50,000 in the year of or the year prior to applying.

To increase the accessibil­ity of our programs, there is also a new entrant policy to allow new agricultur­al producers who may not meet the $50,000 gross farm income and have farmed for less than five years to apply for funding.

If you believe you meet the eligibilit­y criteria and have a project in mind, please call the Agricultur­al Knowledge Centre at 1-866-457-2377 to be put in touch with your regional agri-environmen­tal specialist for more informatio­n.

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