Brian and Barry Lemay figure it makes good business sense to tap into available government assistance programs and implement environmental improvements on their southern Alberta farm.

The brothers, who run a large barley, wheat, and canola cropping operation along with a beef feedlot near Trochu, say funding made available through the Canada-Alberta Farm Stewardship Program (CAFSP) has helped them adopt new technology faster.

"With the program covering 30 percent of the cost of a new GPS (global positioning system) and autosteer technology, it helped us make the decision to buy," says Brian, who along with Barry, are third generation owner/operators of Lemay Land and Livestock Co.

The new John Deere AutoTrac system cost about $20,000 with the CAFSP covering 30 percent of the bill. Their farm is eligible for a total of $30,000 under the program, so they hope to apply remaining funds toward a new fuel storage system.

The double-walled storage tanks with capacity for more than 15,000 litres of diesel and gasoline are expected to cost about $45,000. The tanks are mounted on a concrete pad. With the Stewardship Program kicking in 30 percent of the cost up to $15,000, it's an opportunity they don't want to pass up.

Funding assistance

Financial assistance through CAFSP was made possible after the Lemays completed an Environmental Farm Plan. They were among some of the first producers in Alberta to participate in the voluntary planning process in early 2004.

The Lemay farm will not only receive up to $30,000 in government assistance to help cover the cost of improvements, but they estimate improved crop input efficiencies will also save them several thousand dollars per year.

"When the government assistance program came along we decided we might as well make use of it," says Barry. "The program is designed to encourage producers to implement management and production changes that help protect the environment."

The GPS and autosteer system, which can be used during fertilizer and field spraying operations as well as combining, will help improve input efficiency, while the new fuel storage system which uses more secure tanks and gets tanks off of the conventional raised stands, greatly reduces the risk of spills or leaks which could contaminate soil and water sources.

"It's good for the environment and makes sense from a farm business perspective," says Brian.

Lemay Land and Livestock Co. includes a 6,500-acre grain and oilseed cropping operation as a well as a 5,000 head beef feedlot. Barley is their primary crop. They grow about 4,500 acres of feed barley mostly for their own use, along with 300 acres of barley silage. The balance of their cropped acres is in canola.

Completing an Environmental Farm Plan was a useful process, the Lemays agree. "It didn't involve a lot of surprises since we've always used what we felt were good environmental practices," says Brian. "But it does make you aware of your farming operation and think about how things are done. Our plan didn't indicate a lot of changes, but it shows us where upgrades are needed."

Along with a minimum till cropping system, the Lemays work with a crop consultant with a goal to keep current with all provincial regulations concerning manure management and handling. They have proper fertilizer storage facilities, they don't store pesticides on the farm, and used chemical containers, waste oil and filters are disposed of at proper disposal facilities.

"Improved herbicide efficiency and fuel storage were two areas we did want to address," says Barry. The farmers were already using one GPS system with field mapping for seeding and harvesting, but they wanted a second system that could be used on a tractor for field spraying operations.

The equipment, available for the 2005-cropping season, has helped them reduce crop input costs by at least five percent or about $30,000 over the season.

"We estimate we had about a five percent overlap in all our field operations," says Brian. "With the GPS and autosteer technology, it's now down to zero. We used a 120-foot pull-type sprayer this year and set the GPS for 120-foot spacing. We had no overlap and no misses.

"If you figure that fertilizer, fuel, seed and herbicides cost more than $100 per acre and you can save five percent over 6,500 acres, that's a considerable savings," says Barry.

The Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) and the Canada-Alberta Farm Stewardship Program are two separate, but complementary programs. EFP services are delivered by the non-profit, farmer-managed Alberta Environmental Farm Plan Company (AEFP).

EFP process

"The objective of an environmental farm plan is to educate and raise producer awareness about environmental issues," says Mike Slomp, Executive Director of AEFP, based in Edmonton. "It's a free, voluntary and totally confidential process delivered to Alberta producers through a network of local facilitators who are farmers themselves. The facilitators are assisted by a team of technical advisors who have varied backgrounds in crop, livestock and environmental management.

"The technical advisors explain the planning process at introductory workshops," he explains. "Producers can complete their own plans at home on their own timetable and then participate in a second workshop to further discuss the plans or ask specific questions about the process." Each participant is given a confidential code, which is the only identification that appears on the plan document.

Producers are urged to have completed plans reviewed by one of several three-member panels of producers known as peer-review committees. The panel members provide comments and recommendations on plans before returning them, along with a certificate, to producers.

"It's that documentation producers need to qualify for funding from the Stewardship Program," says Slomp.

CAFSP, which was introduced earlier this year, was designed to encourage producers to adopt environmental improvements on their farm and ranching operations. CAFSP funding covers 26 different categories ranging from improved cropping systems, to improved manure storage and handling systems, to improved riparian area management and wildlife habitat improvement. The program, which covers 30 or 50 percent of approved projects, provides up to $30,000 per farm in cost-shared funding.

Two important points about CAFSP funding - producers need a completed and reviewed plan before they can apply and they must receive approval from CAFSP administration before making any purchases. The program is not retroactive.

"The whole process is a definitely a good thing for the farm," says Brian Lemay. "There is more attention being paid to environmental issues, so as producers we need to pay more attention to what we are doing. It's not something you do and then put on the shelf and forget. You have to make sure all employees are familiar with the plan and that everyone strives to do the best job they can."

For more information on the Environmental Farm Plan process contact the Alberta Environmental Farm Plan Company in Edmonton toll-free at 1-866-844-2337 or visit the Web site at: www.albertaefp.com.

This article is reprintable with credit to AEFP as follows "Reprinted courtesy of the Alberta Environmental Farm Plan Company; www.albertaEFP.com".