| A voluntary, industry-led initiative is addressing the need expressed by the agriculture industry for effective management tools to protect the environment and manage risk. By the fall of 2002, a new tool will be in Alberta farmers' hands -- Environmental Farm Plans (EFP).
An EFP is a risk-based, self-assessment checklist that producers can use to identify management practices in their operations that may affect the environment. Then producers develop an action plan to address any areas of risk, setting their priorities and timelines to mesh with their individual needs. In November and December of 2001, six pilot projects were held across the province, with about 70 producers participating in testing and providing feedback on the EFP assessments and process.
EFP Pilot Workshop
Photo credit: Roger Bryan/AAFRD
Producers find tremendous value in EFP process
After participating in the northeastern Alberta EFP pilot project, two Vegreville producers are convinced it's a useful and valuable process for their farms. Both Page Stuart, Research Director for Highland Feeders, a 36,000-head feedlot, and her husband Rob Stuart, who runs a 100-head cow-calf commercial and purebred operation, were pleased with the outcome of the workshop.
"It is very important, both as a producer and as a representative for the Alberta Cattle Feeders Association on the AESA Council, that this type of initiative be delivered in a practical way that works for individual producers of all types and sizes of operations," says Page Stuart. "I think as producers we're always somewhat skeptical when something comes forward that we perceive as going to tell us how we should be managing our farms," she adds.
Rob Stuart agrees, noting he was hesitant at first about the process and concerned about what it would mean to his operation. "However after completing the workshop, I realized that you end up with an action plan based on your own decisions about what you want to do; it's not decided for you," he says. "Meeting and listening to other producers talking in a roundtable discussion about their experiences and how they developed action plans and implemented changes was really helpful," he adds.
Highland Feeders has focused on environmental management for a number of years and recently received the first annual Feedlot Environmental Stewardship Award from the Canadian Cattlemen's Association and Merial Canada. "It was a tremendous honor to receive this award from our peers, and it reinforces to us that we need to continue in this direction," says Page Stuart.
"Our belief is we always can improve and find better ways to do things, which is why it is so important to me to be involved in this EFP process," she adds. "If we can find value in EFP's for our operation where we have consciously focused effort and resources into environmental management, I am confident every farmer will find some benefit."
After completing the two-day pilot process, this group of producers resoundingly agreed that it was an excellent practical process that could be applied very individually to their individual farms. "The producers were pleased with how the process worked and expressed relief at how practical it was," says Page Stuart. "The EFP workshop process also provided a very safe environment for identifying higher risk concerns and sharing ideas and solutions for action plans," she adds. Producers in this workshop spent between six and 12 hours working on their own plans outside the workshop.
"I believe the EFP is an excellent initiative, and as producers we need to view it as an investment in the infrastructure on our farm, the same way we invest in other infrastructure components," says Page Stuart. "I hear a common message from producers identifying that we need a way to communicate our care of our resources to the general public. The EFP will be the mechanism to do that in a voluntary, safe environment that is practical and delivered from producer to producer," she adds. |