Half of Manitoba Farmland Managed Under Environmental Farm Plans

CANADA - The Farm Stewardship Association of Manitoba says about half of the agricultural land within the province is now being managed under environmental farm plans, writes Bruce Cochrane.
calendar icon 20 April 2007
clock icon 3 minute read

The Farm Stewardship Association of Manitoba was created two years ago to deliver environmental farm plans in partnership with Agriculture and Agrifood Canada and Manitoba Agriculture Food and Rural Initiatives.

Under the voluntary program agricultural producers are issued a three part workbook which takes them through the process of evaluating their operation, it's assets and liabilities, and then developing an environmental farm plan which is reviewed by FSAM staff.

Association Chairman Allan Ransome notes the workbook was developed by Manitoba farmers to fit all farms in Manitoba.

Allan Ransome-Farm Stewardship Association of Manitoba

There's 19 sections that we look at to evaluate our farm, everything from water source protection to feed storage all the way through to soil management down to energy efficiency.

What we track is farms that are either mixed grain or strictly livestock.

There have been over 57 hundred producers attend at least the first workshop.

Out of that 57, up to now, there's over 41 hundred workbooks that have been reviewed and have a statement of completion.

Out of those 41 hundred about 27 hundred are livestock producers.

We do track the number of acres that are covered under the environmental farm plan and that is 6.7 million acres of agricultural land in Manitoba.

That would constitute approximately 50 percent of the land at this point in time.


Ransome notes, once the producer has completed his environmental farm plan and it has been reviewed he becomes eligible to access the Canada Manitoba Farm Stewardship program which offers federal provincial grants which cover 30 or 50 percent of the cost implementing beneficial farm management practices.

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