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	Farmtarioalus Archives | Farmtario	</title>
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	<description>Growing Together</description>
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		<title>Ontario provides $20 million to conservation groups for Species at Risk</title>

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		https://farmtario.com/news/ontario-provides-20-million-to-conservation-groups-for-species-at-risk/		 </link>
		<pubDate>Fri, 13 Mar 2026 20:19:04 +0000</pubDate>
				<dc:creator><![CDATA[Matt McIntosh]]></dc:creator>
						<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[alus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ducks unlimited]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[environmental regulation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[environmental stewardship]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farmland]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farmland retention]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[habitat]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[invasive species]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ontario]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[programs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[species at risk]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://farmtario.com/?p=91504</guid>
				<description><![CDATA[<p>Ontario species at risk funding investment comes amidst other policies making farmland and natural areas more vulnerable. </p>
<p>The post <a href="https://farmtario.com/news/ontario-provides-20-million-to-conservation-groups-for-species-at-risk/">Ontario provides $20 million to conservation groups for Species at Risk</a> appeared first on <a href="https://farmtario.com">Farmtario</a>.</p>
]]></description>
								<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Conservation organizations working in Ontario farm country are recipients of new provincial funding for Species at Risk protection.</p>
<p>While being welcomed by those working in conservation and agriculture, the moves comes as other policies are adding to, rather than detracting from, Species at Risk protection.</p>
<p><strong>WHY IT MATTERS:</strong> <em>As urban boundaries grow and farms make use of more land, there’s more risk to some species in the ecosystem.</em></p>
<p>Announced Feb. 12 by Todd McCarthy, minister of the environment, conservation and parks, a new $20 million investment into Species at Risk is designed to support community-led conservation initiatives, including education, invasive species control and ecosystem services.</p>
<p>A total of 15 new projects and 31 multi-year initiatives are receiving funding under a new Species Conservation Program. Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS), Ducks Unlimited and the Ontario Land Trust Alliance are among the recipients. The Species Conservation Program replaces Ontario’s pre-existing Species at Risk Stewardship Program, which McCarthy says was operating with a quarter of the new budgeted amount.</p>
<p>“Under the new Species Conservation Program, Ontario has quadrupled its investment in species conservation, expanding the impact of community‑driven projects in every corner of the province,” says McCarthy, in the Feb. 12 press release. “By making strategic investments to support experienced conservation leaders, we are taking action to restore habitat, support species recovery efforts and protect Ontario’s rich biodiversity for generations to come.”</p>
<p>New to the Species Conservation Program is an allowance for funding to be used in land procurement. Bryan Gilvesy, chief strategy officer for ALUS, says the allowance will support the organization’s efforts to significantly build on the number of on-farm ecological goods and services projects. Currently, ALUS has partnerships with landowners across 11 different Ontario communities.</p>
<p>“That’s our proposal, that we could preserve another 4,700 acres, and that’s across a few hundred farms,” says Gilvesy. “Farmers decide if they want to participate. We go where farmers rise up and form a steering committee. Some communities are ahead of the game and some have <a href="https://farmtario.com/crops/new-online-decision-making-tool-for-species-at-risk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more opportunities</a>.”</p>
<p>Asked what more the province could do to support ALUS in Species at Risk conservation, Gilvesy says the “high-level ask” is for government to continue seeing farmers as “environmental solution providers.”</p>
<p>“They’re <a href="https://farmtario.com/news/farmer-friendly-approach-could-help-species-at-risk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a key cog</a> to counteracting the explosive growth we’ve seen across several communities.”</p>
<p>Tom Nudds, conservation biologist and professor emeritus in the University of Guelph’s department of integrated biology, agrees the $20 million Species Conservation Program investment is welcome news.</p>
<p>“It’s hard to argue with what they’re doing. Funding numbers like that for conservation in this day and age, especially when a lot of the environmental agenda is at risk, when you get news like that investment you got to be grateful,” says Nudds. “To the extent these organizations are doing extension work, which has been declining for decades – it’s a great way to put the money into the community.”</p>
<h2><strong>Long-term challenges to managing endangered species</strong></h2>
<p>A critical barrier to species conservation remains, however counterintuitively, in the form of Ontario’s Endangered Species Act.</p>
<p>Upon its introduction in 2007, Nudds says the Endangered Species Act was “particularly egregious” in penalizing landowners if certain species were identified on a given property. While exemptions for agriculture were adopted in relatively short order, the Act further damaged trust between farmers and the conservation sector.</p>
<p>“Simple presence-absence data drives most of the threat status for these species. If we can’t get people to get out on land to do that, let alone to do projects and so forth, it’s still a highlight, not random samples of what’s out there. Because people have long memories about what happened about the Endangered Species Act and that arrest potential, I don’t see with these most recent announcements what’s being done on that,” says Nudds.</p>
<p>“This investment is all good, and we shouldn’t forget that. But I’m not sure it scales to the need. We’re not entirely sure what the need is in the first place, because we have to use the data on hand.”</p>
<p>Nudds also points to another contradictory policy within the Endangered Species Act — specifically, the government’s move to <a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/ontario-endangered-species-act-repealed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">redefine habitats for at-risk species under 2025’s Bill </a><a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/ontario-endangered-species-act-repealed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">5</a>.</p>
<p>In narrowly defining habitat as the area in which an animal dens in, for example, the government’s policy no longer accounts for the broader area that animal moves through to forage, look for mates or find improved places to live.</p>
<p>“If that habitat is only the den or nest and some small area around … it seems to me the habitat is already compromised if you use that definition of habitat. The government did a very effective job of imposing factors that reduce the quality of habitat,” says Nudds.</p>
<p>“How are we going to measure habitat quality and remove factors pressuring it, if they’ve defined it in a way that seriously diminishes quality?”</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://farmtario.com/news/ontario-provides-20-million-to-conservation-groups-for-species-at-risk/">Ontario provides $20 million to conservation groups for Species at Risk</a> appeared first on <a href="https://farmtario.com">Farmtario</a>.</p>
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		<title>Province invests in wetland restoration projects on farms</title>

		<link>
		https://farmtario.com/news/province-invests-in-wetland-restoration-projects-on-farms/		 </link>
		<pubDate>Wed, 19 Jun 2024 03:10:37 +0000</pubDate>
				<dc:creator><![CDATA[Farmtario Staff]]></dc:creator>
						<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[alus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wetland]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://farmtario.com/?p=75712</guid>
				<description><![CDATA[<p>The Ontario government is investing over $2.8 million in projects led by ALUS Canada to support farmer-led initiatives to restore and enhance wetlands on 70 farms across the province. The funding will support the restoration of approximately 208 acres of wetlands in 11 municipalities and counties in the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence and Ottawa River [&#8230;] <a class="read-more" href="https://farmtario.com/news/province-invests-in-wetland-restoration-projects-on-farms/">Read more</a></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://farmtario.com/news/province-invests-in-wetland-restoration-projects-on-farms/">Province invests in wetland restoration projects on farms</a> appeared first on <a href="https://farmtario.com">Farmtario</a>.</p>
]]></description>
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<p>The Ontario government is investing over $2.8 million in projects led by ALUS Canada to support farmer-led initiatives to restore and enhance wetlands on 70 farms across the province.</p>



<p>The funding will support the restoration of approximately 208 acres of wetlands in 11 municipalities and counties in the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence and Ottawa River watersheds. The goal is to increase the total area of functioning wetlands infrastructure to prevent flooding and improve water quality, the provincial government said in a release. </p>



<p>The projects led by ALUS Canada will involve working with 70 farmers to prepare sites on their properties for wetland restoration and implement a variety of enhancements, such as planting native trees and shrubs, grassland planting, pollinator plantings, exclusion fencing, erosion controls and invasive species control.</p>



<p>&#8220;Farmers play a key role in environmental and economic health. The funding from the province recognizes the importance of working with farmers and ranchers to ensure they can provide the solutions the communities need,&#8221; Bryan Gilvesy, CEO CEO, ALUS Canada, said in the release. &#8220;Wetlands and other nature-based solutions to environmental challenges are cost-effective. Investing in and creating these solutions now makes farming, communities, and economies more resilient in the long-term.&#8221;</p>



<p>This wetland project is among the many projects led by conservation partners that are collectively receiving up to $11 million from the Wetlands Conservation Partner Program this year.</p>



<p>The release said the Wetlands Conservation Partner Program is one of the largest investments in wetland enhancement and restoration in the province’s history. Over the past five years, Ontario has invested over $31 million to support a wide range of projects that restore and enhance large and <a href="https://farmtario.com/news/jack-miner-migratory-bird-sanctuary-gets-creative-with-income-streams/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">small-scale wetlands</a> and wetlands in more urban areas as part of municipal stormwater management.</p>



<p></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://farmtario.com/news/province-invests-in-wetland-restoration-projects-on-farms/">Province invests in wetland restoration projects on farms</a> appeared first on <a href="https://farmtario.com">Farmtario</a>.</p>
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		<title>ALUS gets new provincial funding</title>

		<link>
		https://farmtario.com/news/alus-gets-new-provincial-funding/		 </link>
		<pubDate>Thu, 07 Sep 2023 19:31:19 +0000</pubDate>
				<dc:creator><![CDATA[John Greig]]></dc:creator>
						<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[alus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conservation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Farm news]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farmland]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Other]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wildlife]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://farmtario.com/?p=69547</guid>
				<description><![CDATA[<p>At the Crump farm near Ilderton, runoff from 400 nearby acres, grazing by too many cattle and an elevation change of 35 feet in a short distance led to a strained ecosystem. Now, Chris and Vivian Crump have added wetlands, created more controlled grazing, managed the runoff from the barns and farmyard, planted 2,500 trees [&#8230;] <a class="read-more" href="https://farmtario.com/news/alus-gets-new-provincial-funding/">Read more</a></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://farmtario.com/news/alus-gets-new-provincial-funding/">ALUS gets new provincial funding</a> appeared first on <a href="https://farmtario.com">Farmtario</a>.</p>
]]></description>
								<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p>At the Crump farm near Ilderton, runoff from 400 nearby acres, grazing by too many cattle and an elevation change of 35 feet in a short distance led to a strained ecosystem.</p>



<p>Now, Chris and Vivian Crump have added <a href="https://www.canadiancattlemen.ca/livestock/beef-cattle/largest-conservation-project-in-canada-underway/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wetlands</a>, created more controlled grazing, managed the runoff from the barns and farmyard, planted 2,500 trees and created grassed waterways.</p>



<p><strong><em>Why it matters</em></strong>: Farmers find funding programs help them invest in improving the environment on their properties.</p>



<p>The result, says Chris Crump, is a much healthier property, with an increase in species at risk including hog-nosed snakes and 46 different kinds of birds, including some rare species like the yellow-headed blackbird.</p>



<p>That success made the Crump farm the chosen site for announcement of $561,000 in funding for <a href="https://farmtario.com/news/award-winner-values-relationships-in-land-preservation/">ALUS</a>, a charitable group that helps produce, fund and maintain ecosystem services on agricultural lands.</p>



<p>The funding comes from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks and is a part of the larger Species at Risk Stewardship Program.</p>



<p>The three-year funding for ALUS aims to help fund projects in southern Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area.</p>



<p>“I want to thank the team at ALUS Canada for all that you do,” says David Piccini, Ontario minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks. “This is, in my books, the beginning of so much more excitement and shared stewardship that we can do together. Thank you for challenging us as public policymakers to do more, to think bigger.</p>



<p>“More beef farming leads to more habitat for endangered grassland birds like bobolinks and eastern meadowlarks,” says Piccini.</p>



<p>ALUS has delivered more than $12 million in funding to rural Ontario communities, says Bryan Gilvesy, CEO of ALUS Canada. More than 800 farmers have been involved in ALUS projects, including 155 new farmers in the past year. ALUS has benefitted from government funding and from an influx of funds from private sector donors who are interested in ecological goods and services.</p>



<p>“Many of these projects create critical habitat for <a href="https://www.canadiancattlemen.ca/news/cca-welcomes-continued-environment-and-climate-change-canada-funding-for-species-at-risk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">species at risk</a>. But they do so much more. They provide benefits to water quality and quantity, support pollinators and of course sequester carbon,” says Gilvesy.</p>



<p>“We think the farm produces food, fibre and valuable ecosystem services for the planet. And that’s a new view of the farm that I think is particularly enticing, particularly when you marry that to our marketplace activities that can find revenues for these sorts of things,” says Gilvesy, who is also a beef farmer.</p>



<p>Crump says they couldn’t have changed their farm as they have without funding from ALUS and other projects, such as those through the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association.</p>



<p>The springs that feed into the Sydenham River start on the Crump farm, which is of interest to the local conservation authority. Crump says water flows clearer now off the property as the speed of water passage was slowed and erosion decreased.</p>



<p>The Crump farm is about 96 acres, with about 50 workable. The family sells many products from the farm directly to consumers, including meat, flour made from specialty wheats and oil pressed from their sunflowers. They welcome consumers for sunflower field and alpaca walks.</p>



<p>Chris Crump has for years run Agriculture Ultrasound, a company that pregnancy checks pigs across the province and in other countries. He’s slowed down that business and now focuses on providing services to build wetlands around the countryside, using all that he learned on his own farm and some education from Rutgers University.</p>



<p>Crump says he’s happier living and working on the farm that has a healthier ecosystem, and it’s not a financial challenge to change it.</p>



<p>“I’ve noticed like zero impact on my bottom line,” he says.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://farmtario.com/news/alus-gets-new-provincial-funding/">ALUS gets new provincial funding</a> appeared first on <a href="https://farmtario.com">Farmtario</a>.</p>
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		<title>Award-winner values relationships in land preservation</title>

		<link>
		https://farmtario.com/news/award-winner-values-relationships-in-land-preservation/		 </link>
		<pubDate>Fri, 16 Apr 2021 19:02:20 +0000</pubDate>
				<dc:creator><![CDATA[Stew Slater]]></dc:creator>
						<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[alus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[first nations]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pollinators]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://farmtario.com/?p=53371</guid>
				<description><![CDATA[<p>Improving the environment or building farming’s reputation among consumers might be possible incentives for getting involved with farmland conservation efforts, but for St-Isidore’s Marc Bercier it’s relationships. Bercier was the winner of this year’s $10,000 Dave Reid Award from Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) Canada. He’s been involved in ALUS projects for eight years. Why [&#8230;] <a class="read-more" href="https://farmtario.com/news/award-winner-values-relationships-in-land-preservation/">Read more</a></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://farmtario.com/news/award-winner-values-relationships-in-land-preservation/">Award-winner values relationships in land preservation</a> appeared first on <a href="https://farmtario.com">Farmtario</a>.</p>
]]></description>
								<content:encoded><![CDATA[
<p>Improving the environment or building farming’s reputation among consumers might be possible incentives for getting involved with farmland conservation efforts, but for St-Isidore’s Marc Bercier it’s relationships.</p>



<p>Bercier was the winner of this year’s $10,000 Dave Reid Award from Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) Canada. He’s been involved in ALUS projects for eight years.</p>


<p style="padding-left: 40px;"><em><strong>Why it matters</strong></em>: There are increasingly diverse types of farmers involved in Alternative Land Use Services projects.</p>


<p>The Dave Reid award recognizes an ALUS participant who is an “excellent steward of the land and who (has) done outstanding and innovative work in producing ecological services.”</p>



<p>The Weston Family Ecosystem Innovation Award, of equal value, was awarded the same day to Dr. Amy Newman, associate professor in the University of Guelph’s Department of Integrative Biology.</p>



<p>Bercier, who serves on ALUS Canada’s Partnership Advisory Committee, has long been a leader in Ontario’s seed sector, and this award cements his status as a leader in marginal land naturalization.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Eight years ago he made a decision to convert a gully on a just-purchased farm he tobogganed on and ate wild strawberries from as a youth when it was owned by his uncle, to more vegetation. The area now includes about four kilometres of buffer strips, pollinator habitat, and venues for visiting schoolchildren studying outdoor activities and natural systems.</p>



<p>He insists average yields have increased on the 3,000 acres operated by La Ferme Agribec since embarking on land naturalization, thanks to increased pollinator presence and improved soil quality. Plus, “I don’t have the time or money for a cottage in the north. But I have, on the farm, a natural green space where I can relax, and be proud of it.”</p>



<p>Bercier’s first on-farm venture following graduation from Alfred College in the 1980s was a seed cleaning facility – a now much-expanded business that continues to this day. The farm on which he was raised, a dairy operation during his youth, was soon converted to specialized seed production.</p>



<p>In soybeans, Bercier joined forces with seven other producers to form Pro Seeds, a venture he divested several years later after realizing his views on biotechnology had diverged from the mainstream. From there, he moved on to specializing in hemp – a crop he says he introduced onto La Ferme Agriber in order to broaden the crop rotation. The farm is now home to two separate hemp-related seed businesses.</p>



<p>“I do think I’m successful in business,” he agreed. “But for me, I never talk about money. I talk about the vision.”</p>



<p>It may not be surprising, then, that when asked about ALUS, Bercier doesn’t mention that the fact the organization’s role is to hand over money to farm landowners who convert cropland into such uses as wetlands, riparian zones, or native tall-grass prairie buffers.</p>



<p>Since first rejecting the recommendation of his farm drainage contractor eight years ago, and instead deciding to transform the gully on what had once been his uncle’s farm into an environmental preserve, he says the people he has encountered have made it all worthwhile.</p>



<p>He has met farmers “who don’t judge” him as a landowner collaborating with a conservation authority. And, just as importantly, he has met non-farmers “who don’t judge me as a cash-cropper.” He may have a big sprayer, and big tractors, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t using high-tech innovations to limit the environmental impact of his tillage and pest control activities.</p>



<p>Bercier said opportunities to meet members of the Eastern Ontario region’s First Nations have been particularly rewarding. He recalls experiencing his first “land acknowledgement” at the commencement of a conference in Kemptville at which he was a guest speaker and meeting with First Nations representatives on the South Nation Conservation Authority.</p>



<p>“This summer, my holiday was to walk the South Nation trails and learn about the history of this area,” he said, adding he was certainly never told in school that the First Nations of his region were also farmers.</p>



<p>“When we talk about our farm, they learn from me. But I learn a lot from the First Nations.”</p>



<p>Bercier says he has repeatedly been surprised how quickly areas of less-than-productive farmland have been transformed into natural states. And he’s certain that “every farmer has a piece of land, even if it’s just a part of an acre, that’s impractical to farm.”</p>



<p>He loves spreading the word about ALUS, and the goals the program encapsulates. So he’s open to the possibilities of what to do with the $10,000 award.&nbsp;</p>



<p>“I need help from people like you,” he insisted, to bring forward ideas he might be interested in supporting. Is it a community garden for people with limited income? Or subsidizing bus trips from agricultural colleges to ALUS sites? Or maybe even a start-up business providing chemical-free lawn care and seeding lawns to drought-resistant and slow-growing species that don’t require watering and only need limited mowing?</p>



<p>If he likes the idea enough, Bercier says, he might even throw in his matching $10,000 – especially if it’s a young person or family.</p>



<p>“Because this is the generation that really needs to help us change the mentality of the way we farm.”</p>



<p>A runner-up Dave Reid prize of $1,500 was handed to Lambton County ALUS participants Mary Ellen and John King.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://farmtario.com/news/award-winner-values-relationships-in-land-preservation/">Award-winner values relationships in land preservation</a> appeared first on <a href="https://farmtario.com">Farmtario</a>.</p>
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		<title>Editorial: When good policy is foiled by bad additions</title>

		<link>
		https://farmtario.com/news/editorial-when-good-policy-is-foiled-by-bad-additions/		 </link>
		<pubDate>Mon, 19 Oct 2020 16:27:27 +0000</pubDate>
				<dc:creator><![CDATA[John Greig]]></dc:creator>
						<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[alus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[biofuel]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Clean Fuel Standard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[editorial]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Ethanol]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Grain Farmers of Ontario]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://farmtario.com/?p=50153</guid>
				<description><![CDATA[<p>The increase in demand for biofuels coming from the federal government’s Clean Fuel Standard should be a cause for celebration for farmers, but there’s concerning fine print in the regulations. It can be argued that ethanol policy over the past 20 years has been the most successful farm support program in history. It created a [&#8230;] <a class="read-more" href="https://farmtario.com/news/editorial-when-good-policy-is-foiled-by-bad-additions/">Read more</a></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://farmtario.com/news/editorial-when-good-policy-is-foiled-by-bad-additions/">Editorial: When good policy is foiled by bad additions</a> appeared first on <a href="https://farmtario.com">Farmtario</a>.</p>
]]></description>
								<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The increase in demand for biofuels coming from the federal government’s Clean Fuel Standard should be a cause for celebration for farmers, but there’s concerning fine print in the regulations.</p>
<p>It can be argued that ethanol policy over the past 20 years has been the most successful farm support program in history. It created a market demand for corn and to a lesser extent oilseeds, which has helped put a floor in corn pricing in Ontario and across North America. Ethanol uses at least 30 per cent of the corn produced in Ontario.</p>
<p>Most of it ends up in <a href="https://farmtario.com/daily/u-s-oil-refiners-press-on-renewable-diesel-for-canadian-market/">vehicle fuel</a>.</p>
<p>The Clean Fuel Standard extends the need for cleaner-burning fuel to areas like home and business heat.</p>
<p>That will mean more demand for ethanol and other biofuels.</p>
<p>However, <a href="https://farmtario.com/news/gfo-campaign-expands-across-eastern-canada/">Grain Farmers of Ontario</a> spotted concerning details that include a strange requirement that biofuels not be produced on land that has been cleared in the past eight years.</p>
<p>There’s nothing wrong with encouraging buffers and the maintenance of forest and wetlands. Programs like <a href="https://farmtario.com/news/silk-invests-in-alus-project/">Alternative Land Use Services</a> (ALUS) are a good model to use to encourage, and reimburse, people who maintain or enhance biodiversity on their farms. We need more of it with species in serious decline.</p>
<p>However, a retroactive clause in a fuel bill seems punitive and counterproductive. Why just eight years? Why not for land that was cleared 20 or 50 or 100 years ago?</p>
<p>I expect it has to do with the math that’s being done around sustainability programs by governments and especially large companies. They don’t want to create impacts when a new program is introduced to reduce them. In other words: Reducing carbon sinks and releasing carbon by clearing land will negate gains made by using cleaner-burning fuel.</p>
<p>That doesn’t mean a policy that intends to change the makeup of a commodity market (like changing fuel standards) should be hampered by add-ons that could significantly impinge on the original goal.</p>
<p>The land-clearing exemption is unworkable at this point. Say a farmer cleared six per cent of their land (which could be cleaning up around the edges of forests or fence rows). How do you segregate that six per cent of crop? No one’s going to build a separate bin. You could run to the elevator with just that six per cent of corn, but that also makes little sense. The elevators aren’t going to want to segregate biofuel and non-biofuel corn.</p>
<p>Or maybe you can just not ship six per cent of your corn for biofuel. That would be a bit more workable as there’s lots of market for corn other than biofuel, but that still makes little sense logistically.</p>
<p>Who’s going to police whether the corn you sell for ethanol comes from land cleared in the past eight years?</p>
<p>Of our priorities, this shouldn’t be very high on the list for public expenditure or paperwork creation. I expect that farmers will just have to sign a form that says they are meeting the letter of the criteria, but the best outcome would be for this proviso to go away.</p>
<p>The potential benefits versus costs of the Clean Fuel Standard mean different messages coming from different farm groups across the country. GFO expressed concern about the unworkable added bureaucracy in the bill. Canola farmers in the West lauded the program and look forward to new markets.</p>
<p>The Clean Fuel Standard will stretch into areas like natural gas, and that sector of the energy industry claims that it will dramatically increase costs. Farmers make use of a lot of natural gas for barn heating and grain drying, so this could have an effect on farmer incomes.</p>
<p>Two provisos on the concerns about natural gas: We heard the same thing from refineries about the adoption of ethanol, but over the years the process has become streamlined and efficient.</p>
<p>There also will be opportunity in natural gas for some farmers, especially those with livestock. Some Ontario farms are already working to move methane into the natural gas system, with some decent contracts available to do so.</p>
<p>This could also drive more community management of manure to collect methane, as has happened in Europe.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://farmtario.com/news/editorial-when-good-policy-is-foiled-by-bad-additions/">Editorial: When good policy is foiled by bad additions</a> appeared first on <a href="https://farmtario.com">Farmtario</a>.</p>
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		<title>Silk invests in ALUS project</title>

		<link>
		https://farmtario.com/news/silk-invests-in-alus-project/		 </link>
		<pubDate>Fri, 07 Aug 2020 17:08:46 +0000</pubDate>
				<dc:creator><![CDATA[Farmtario Staff]]></dc:creator>
						<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[alus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Land management]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://farmtario.com/?p=48771</guid>
				<description><![CDATA[<p>Farmers involved in ALUS (Alternative Land Use Services) projects will have greater funding from a new investment in the program. Silk, the plant-based drink company, has committed $100,00 to ALUS’s New Acre Project. The funds will help farmers in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec to use their land in a way that qualifies as ecosystem services [&#8230;] <a class="read-more" href="https://farmtario.com/news/silk-invests-in-alus-project/">Read more</a></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://farmtario.com/news/silk-invests-in-alus-project/">Silk invests in ALUS project</a> appeared first on <a href="https://farmtario.com">Farmtario</a>.</p>
]]></description>
								<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Farmers involved in ALUS (Alternative Land Use Services) projects will have greater funding from a new investment in the program.</p>
<p>Silk, the plant-based drink company, has committed $100,00 to ALUS’s New Acre Project.</p>
<p>The funds will help farmers in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec to use their land in a way that qualifies as ecosystem services under ALUS.</p>
<p>Farmers who work with ALUS are funded to maintain and create zones on their farm that grow plants other than crops and encourage bio-diversity by providing new habitat.</p>
<p>“As supply chains face unprecedented pressures, it is more important than ever that Canada’s farmers have the necessary tools to provide healthy food to feed our families,” said Geneviève Bolduc, director Plant-Based Category at Danone.</p>
<p>“At the same time, Silk’s involvement in the New Acre Project advances our ongoing mission to support local communities and promote sustainable local practices, such as water conservation and helping pollinators, through our existing drought-resistant plants project.”</p>
<p>The funding will help manage and restore 90 acres of farmland in seven communities over seven years.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://farmtario.com/news/silk-invests-in-alus-project/">Silk invests in ALUS project</a> appeared first on <a href="https://farmtario.com">Farmtario</a>.</p>
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		<title>New soil test looks at microbial populations</title>

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		https://farmtario.com/news/new-soil-test-looks-at-microbial-populations/		 </link>
		<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2020 20:34:11 +0000</pubDate>
				<dc:creator><![CDATA[Farmtario Staff]]></dc:creator>
						<category><![CDATA[Crops]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[alus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Soil]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[soil health]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://farmtario.com/?p=48645</guid>
				<description><![CDATA[<p>A&#38;L Canada Laboratories Inc. recently launched VitTellus Bio, a new soil health test that quantifies soil microbial populations. VitTellus Bio complements the VitTellus Soil Health test, which is used to help farmers make informed decisions on application of nutrient and managing and improving soil health. It does more than measure the chemical properties of soil, [&#8230;] <a class="read-more" href="https://farmtario.com/news/new-soil-test-looks-at-microbial-populations/">Read more</a></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://farmtario.com/news/new-soil-test-looks-at-microbial-populations/">New soil test looks at microbial populations</a> appeared first on <a href="https://farmtario.com">Farmtario</a>.</p>
]]></description>
								<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A&amp;L Canada Laboratories Inc. recently launched VitTellus Bio, a new soil health test that quantifies soil microbial populations.</p>
<p>VitTellus Bio complements the VitTellus Soil Health test, which is used to help farmers make informed decisions on application of nutrient and managing and improving soil health.</p>
<p>It does more than measure the chemical properties of soil, aiming to provide deeper information about physical and biological interaction in the soil.</p>
<p>The VitTellus Bio test looks more closely at soil microbial populations.</p>
<p>The test uses selective carbon sources to measure the concentration of specific functional microbial groups within a soil sample. Research has shown that certain carbon sources have known beneficial functionality, such as for nitrogen fixation. Optimal ranges of these functional microbes are provided and, along with the soil chemistry metrics, will allow the user to implement farm management strategies to increase favourable soil microbe populations.</p>
<p>“This analysis allows clients to understand their current soil microbial populations and take concrete actions to cultivate microbes which support healthier soils, stronger plants and greater returns for the farmer, and society,” says Greg Patterson, CCA, Founder and CEO of A&amp;L. “This is a worthwhile, long-view endeavour. We strongly encourage farmers to truly get to know their soils for their longstanding success.”</p>
<p>Farmers involved in ALUS (Alternative Land Use Services) projects will have greater funding from a new investment in the program.</p>
<p>Silk, the plant-based drink company, has committed $100,00 to ALUS’s New Acre Project.</p>
<p>The funds will help farmers in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec to use their land in a way that qualifies as ecosystem services under ALUS.</p>
<p>Farmers who work with ALUS are funded to maintain and create zones on their farm that grow plants other than crops and encourage biodiversity by providing new habitat.</p>
<p>“As supply chains face unprecedented pressures, it is more important than ever that Canada’s farmers have the necessary tools to provide healthy food to feed our families,” said Geneviève Bolduc, director Plant-Based Category at Danone.</p>
<p>“At the same time, Silk’s involvement in the New Acre Project advances our ongoing mission to support local communities and promote sustainable local practices, such as water conservation and helping pollinators, through our existing drought-resistant plants project.”</p>
<p>The funding will help manage and restore 90 acres of farmland in seven communities over seven years.</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://farmtario.com/news/new-soil-test-looks-at-microbial-populations/">New soil test looks at microbial populations</a> appeared first on <a href="https://farmtario.com">Farmtario</a>.</p>
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		<title>Tories&#8217; climate plan focused on green investment</title>

		<link>
		https://farmtario.com/daily/tories-climate-plan-focused-on-green-investment/		 </link>
		<pubDate>Thu, 20 Jun 2019 17:26:55 +0000</pubDate>
				<dc:creator><![CDATA[GFM Staff]]></dc:creator>
						<category><![CDATA[Machinery]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[alus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climate change]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[conservatives]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[farmers]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://farmtario.com/daily/tories-climate-plan-focused-on-green-investment/</guid>
				<description><![CDATA[<p>The federal Conservatives&#8217; proposed replacement for the Liberal government&#8217;s framework on climate change offers several shout-outs to farmers, in a document focused on green investment rather than current consumption patterns. The lead opposition party&#8217;s plan, launched Wednesday by leader Andrew Scheer, proposes to scrap the Trudeau government&#8217;s current carbon pricing plan, which imposes levies on [&#8230;] <a class="read-more" href="https://farmtario.com/daily/tories-climate-plan-focused-on-green-investment/">Read more</a></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://farmtario.com/daily/tories-climate-plan-focused-on-green-investment/">Tories&#8217; climate plan focused on green investment</a> appeared first on <a href="https://farmtario.com">Farmtario</a>.</p>
]]></description>
								<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The federal Conservatives&#8217; proposed replacement for the Liberal government&#8217;s framework on climate change offers several shout-outs to farmers, in a document focused on green investment rather than current consumption patterns.</p>
<p>The lead opposition party&#8217;s plan, launched Wednesday by leader Andrew Scheer, proposes to scrap the Trudeau government&#8217;s current carbon pricing plan, which imposes levies on fossil fuel consumption in a bid to improve energy efficiency.</p>
<p>Rather, the Tories said in Wednesday&#8217;s document, &#8220;we can encourage and support the development of green technology to make environmentally friendly alternatives available. We can do this without making the lives of Canadians harder and more expensive.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Conservatives&#8217; document grants that while &#8220;natural events can account for some temperature change, research and data show that human activities are a major contributing factor. It is now considered extremely likely that more than half of the increase in global surface temperature between 1951 and 2010 has been caused by man-made greenhouse gas contributions.&#8221;</p>
<p>However, the party said, compared to larger greenhouse gas emitters such as China, &#8220;Canada is a small contributor to the global problem. By most measures, we account for about 1.6 per cent of total global emissions.&#8221;</p>
<p>The party instead proposes a Green Patent Credit and investment in a Green Technology and Innovation Fund, meant to produce more &#8220;emissions-reducing technologies&#8221; that would allow Canada to have &#8220;a global reach on emissions reduction.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Green Patent Credit would reduce the tax rate to five per cent on income generated from green technology developed and patented in Canada.</p>
<p>The Green Technology and Innovation Fund, meanwhile, proposes to leverage up to $1 billion in private investment in venture capital for Canadian green technology companies, starting with a $250 million federal contribution and requiring the private sector to invest $4 for each $1 from government.</p>
<p>As an example of the sort of carbon capture and sequestration technology that could be funded, the party said, &#8220;our farmers have developed technologies that facilitate no-till or low-till farming techniques, which increases the capacity of the land to sequester carbon. Plant science technologies have also allowed Canadian farmers to reduce their use of diesel.&#8221;</p>
<p>Farmers, the Tories noted, &#8220;are doing their part in the fight against climate change by improving land-use practices like zero tillage and the use of 4R Nutrient Stewardship. We recognize their contribution in sequestering carbon.&#8221;</p>
<p>A Conservative government &#8220;will look for ways to support (farmers&#8217;) continued development of technology and land-use practices that are good for our environment,&#8221; the party said.</p>
<p>&#8220;We will work with them to increase the efficiency of fertilizers and land-use methods, maximize the potential of agricultural land to sequester carbon, and ensure that best practices keep pace with the most recent advancements in technology and practice.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Tory climate plan&#8217;s plank on renewable fuels states that the party&#8217;s plan is to &#8220;encourage fuel producers to do their part, but we must make sure that we do not put an added burden on Canadians.&#8221;</p>
<p>Demand for fossil fuels &#8220;will continue for some time, so it makes sense to look at options for lowering their emissions intensity. But we must also consider the impacts on cost, land use, the current state of technology, regional differences in climate, and the ability of existing fleets to accommodate any changes to fuels.&#8221;</p>
<p>A Scheer government, the document said, would &#8220;work with provinces, territories and stakeholders to increase the availability and use of renewable fuels and to decrease the carbon intensity of Canada&#8217;s fuel mix.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Tories&#8217; climate plan also pledges &#8220;to study the feasibility of an incentives-based program that restores, maintains and protects critical habitats&#8221; by identifying regions and ecosystems that provide &#8220;significant ecological goods and services&#8221; and assessing options for &#8220;maintaining or restoring critical habitats in these areas on private lands.&#8221;</p>
<p>Such a study, the Tories said, would allow a Tory government to &#8220;consider expanding on&#8217; the work of &#8220;important programs&#8221; such as Ducks Unlimited&#8217;s FlexFarm program and Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS).</p>
<p>On a related note, the climate plan also commits Scheer to support the completion of the Canadian Wetland Inventory, at a cost of $15 million over three years.</p>
<p>The Tories&#8217; climate plan also commits the party to maintain support for protection of &#8220;significant&#8221; watersheds such as the Great Lakes and Lake Winnipeg.</p>
<p>It further commits a Tory government to study &#8220;the contribution that Canada&#8217;s landscape makes to global emissions.&#8221;</p>
<p>Specifically, the party said, &#8220;to successfully reduce emissions at home we must understand the contributions of our forests, wetlands, tundra and managed lands as a carbon sink.&#8221;</p>
<p>For example, Canadian forests have been a net carbon sink, the party said, &#8220;but in recent years, wildfires and pest infestations may have tipped the scale in the other direction. It is vital that we identify not only where we are now, but also where the opportunities are so that we can make better land use decisions for the future.&#8221;</p>
<h4>&#8216;Expensive and inefficient&#8217;</h4>
<p>Among the responses to Scheer&#8217;s plan, federal Green Party leader Elizabeth May said Thursday that &#8220;it can only be a good thing to have a set of proposals to review. And some of the Conservative ideas are worthwhile&#8230; But overall, the plan would make the climate crisis worse.&#8221;</p>
<p>Scheer&#8217;s plan, she said, &#8220;worsens the situation by asserting that Canada&#8217;s oil and gas sector must continue and expand. It relies on extremely expensive and inefficient technologies like carbon capture and storage, while claiming&#8230; that exporting fracked natural gas as LNG will reduce the climate threat.&#8221;</p>
<p>Catherine McKenna, the federal Liberals&#8217; environment minister, contended in a party release Wednesday that Scheer &#8220;waited until the last hours of this Parliament&#8221; to propose a climate plan because &#8220;he wanted nobody around to debate ideas that will cost Canadians more while doing less to protect our environment and the future for our kids.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;This is a plan only an oil lobbyist could love,&#8221; Greenpeace Canada climate and energy campaigner Keith Stewart said Wednesday of Scheer&#8217;s plan in a separate release. &#8220;It checks all the key boxes on the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers&#8217; wish list and if it ever became federal policy it would deepen the climate crisis.&#8221; &#8212; <em>Glacier FarmMedia Network</em></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://farmtario.com/daily/tories-climate-plan-focused-on-green-investment/">Tories&#8217; climate plan focused on green investment</a> appeared first on <a href="https://farmtario.com">Farmtario</a>.</p>
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		<title>ALUS program expands to Quebec</title>

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		https://farmtario.com/daily/alus-program-expands-to-quebec/		 </link>
		<pubDate>Fri, 12 Aug 2016 20:17:47 +0000</pubDate>
				<dc:creator><![CDATA[Farmtario Staff]]></dc:creator>
						<category><![CDATA[Livestock]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[monteregie]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pollinators]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[quebec]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[upa]]></category>

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				<description><![CDATA[<p>The Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) program has made its move into a sixth province with a new project in Quebec&#8217;s Monteregie. ALUS Canada, working with the Monteregie branch of Quebec&#8217;s Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA), formally launched the program Wednesday at its first Quebec location, a farm near St-Jean-Baptiste, south of St-Hyacinthe. ALUS, in [&#8230;] <a class="read-more" href="https://farmtario.com/daily/alus-program-expands-to-quebec/">Read more</a></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://farmtario.com/daily/alus-program-expands-to-quebec/">ALUS program expands to Quebec</a> appeared first on <a href="https://farmtario.com">Farmtario</a>.</p>
]]></description>
								<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) program has made its move into a sixth province with a new project in Quebec&#8217;s Monteregie.</p>
<p>ALUS Canada, working with the Monteregie branch of Quebec&#8217;s Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA), formally launched the program Wednesday at its first Quebec location, a farm near St-Jean-Baptiste, south of St-Hyacinthe.</p>
<p>ALUS, in its initial year in the province, is expected to develop six hectares of habitat for wildlife and native pollinators and help to improve water quality.</p>
<p>The project, at Jules Malouin&#8217;s farm southeast of St-Jean-Baptiste, is also expected to help stabilize the riverbank, reduce erosion and provide &#8220;cooling shade&#8221; over a nearby watercourse, thus improving water quality for an endangered fish species, the copper redhorse.</p>
<p>According to the federal fisheries department, the copper redhorse is the only fish species with a distribution range entirely in Quebec, around islands in the St. Lawrence River and its lakes.</p>
<p>The species, found nowhere else in the world and protected in Canada since 2007, faces habitat pressure from riverbank erosion, &#8220;increased suspended matter owing to agriculture, deforestation and urbanization&#8221; and the &#8220;premature aging&#8221; of the rivers, the fisheries department said.</p>
<p>ALUS Canada, the not-for-profit body that now operates ALUS in six provinces, said the Monteregie program will focus on a 420-square km area made up of two watersheds, those of the riviere des Hurons and the ruisseaux (creeks) Hazen-Bleury and a la Barbotte.</p>
<p>&#8220;The UPA has always recognized the importance of ecological services, and now this partnership with ALUS Canada will allow us to act on it,&#8221; Christian Saint Jacques, president of the Federation de l&#8217;UPA de la Monteregie and of the ALUS-Monteregie partnership advisory committee, said in a release.</p>
<p>&#8220;ALUS provides the mechanism to put projects on the ground, and the funding to make annual payments to our participants&#8221; such as Malouin, he said.</p>
<p>The ALUS program, which first launched in Manitoba in 2006 and now runs also in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Prince Edward Island, relaunched earlier this year under the ALUS Canada not-for-profit body, with backing from the Toronto-based W. Garfield Weston Foundation.</p>
<p>ALUS Canada has so far invested nearly $2.8 million with over 700 participants on almost 18,400 ALUS acres across the country. <em>&#8212; AGCanada.com Network</em></p>
<p>The post <a href="https://farmtario.com/daily/alus-program-expands-to-quebec/">ALUS program expands to Quebec</a> appeared first on <a href="https://farmtario.com">Farmtario</a>.</p>
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