The governments of Canada and Saskatchewan have announced a new beneficial management practice for cow-calf producers under the Farm Stewardship Program. Eligible beef cow-calf producers can now access cost-shared funding of up to 75 per cent of project costs, to a maximum payment of $15,000, for the development of preventative run-off control measures. Eligible projects include; holding or retention ponds for collecting run-off, ditches, berms or dykes and earthwork or pen re-grading to achieve proper run-off.
Conservation authority, farmer discuss soil and water health
Maitland Conservation (MC), formerly Maitland Valley Conservation Authority (MCVA), has been monitoring two agricultural sub-watersheds to address water quality concerns and the effects of farming practices on local water. Ben Van Dieten, Agricultural Stewardship Technician, and Chris Van Esbroeck, Stewardship Services Coordinator of MC, presented their findings to date on these projects, in terms of how and when sediment and nutrients leave the landscape, and the practices they promote to reduce these losses.