The federal government’s On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF) is poised to run for at least another three years with $300 million in federal funding.
While the dollar amount was previously known, Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay formally announced the funding for the OFCAF initiative through 2027-28 on Tuesday.
The fund, along with other Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) programming, will likely be subject to review if the Conservative Party wins the upcoming federal election, but as it stands, the government is committed to continue paying farmers to implement new practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
First established in the 2021 federal budget, OFCAF money will continue to be distributed by 13 organizations (listed below).
There had been discussion about changes to what would be eligible for funding, but AAFC has left the three over-arching priorities unchanged for the next three years. The funds will continue to be used to incentivize on-farm adoption in the following three areas (descriptions via AAFC):
– Cover cropping: activities such as fall- or spring-planted cover crops (intercropping), and full-season annual or perennial cover crops in a rotation. Planting cover crops, like clover and alfalfa, cover the soil rather than being harvested, in turn adding nutrients that build organic matter, increase water access and, reduce soil erosion.
– Nitrogen management: activities like optimizing nitrogen use by increasing legumes in rotations, and using manure and other fertilizer substitutes can provide lasting benefits to soil, air and water quality.
– Rotational grazing: practices include new fencing and watering systems, and activities to implement low methane pastures. Rotational grazing is the practice of containing and moving livestock through pasture to allow forage plants to recover, deepen their root systems and improve soil health.
MacAulay’s announcement on Tuesday appears to have been a formality, as the government had previously included the $300 million amount when referring to total OFCAF funding of $704.1 million.
To date, AAFC says OFCAF support has gone out to over 7,500 farmers accounting for 2,400,000 hectares (approx. 5.9 million acres) of land. Around 3,000 agrologists and 27,000 producers have attended knowledge exchange and peer-to-peer learning activities funded through OFCAF.
The 13 organizations set to distribute the OFCAF funds through their own programming over the next three years are:
– B.C. Investment Agriculture Foundation
– Canadian Forage and Grassland Association
– ECOCERT Canada
– Manitoba Association of Watersheds
– Manitoba Métis Federation
– Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Agriculture
– New Brunswick Soil and Crop Improvement Association
– Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association
– Perennia Food and Agriculture Inc.
– Prince Edward Island Federation of Agriculture
– Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR)
– Saskatchewan Association of Watersheds
– L’Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA).
(The Canola Council of Canada and Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) Canada finished their OFCAF projects as of April 1, 2024.)
Related: Where the money has gone: On-Farm Climate Action Fund halfway through its budget
