That's a question this 69-year-old beef producer asks anyone who questions the value of developing an Environmental Farm Plan.
Bob Prestage on EFPs: Bob Prestage isn't short of words when he explains the reasoning behind efforts to develop an environmental plan for his Camrose-area farm.
Considering it an investment in the future for the family-run business, his decision was influenced by 40 years of raising beef cattle along the Battle River, and also seeing the challenges and operational issues producers in other parts of the world face in a bid to make a living from the land.
"To a large extent it was dealing with producers in other countries over the years that formed my opinion on the environment," says Prestage, a longtime breeder of purebred Black Angus cattle, and a pioneer of the Canadian livestock export business.
"Over 30 years ago when I made my first trip to Japan, I met a farmer with a 10,000 head feedlot, who had a shelter over the manure pile, needed tanks to hold liquid manure, and had to haul manure an hour and a half from the farm to find land to spread it.
"It was a system that even today is unfamiliar to most Alberta beef producers and yet to that Japanese producer it was a necessary part of farming. And there are many examples in other countries where agriculture must comply with much tougher standards in order to do business. We don't have those standards here in Canada, but it is important that we as producers show our own consumers and the rest of the world we are doing the best job possible."
Prestage was among the first wave of producers who participated in the Alberta Environmental Farm Plan (AEFP) process. It involved two days in a workshop with other local producers to understand the basic concepts and then a few hours of homework going through a workbook to evaluate his own production and operational practices.
The process yielded a plan that identified environmentally sound production practices such as Prestage's long-established rotational grazing and pasture watering systems that keep cattle out of dugouts and away from the river. At the same time the plan also pointed out weaknesses such as a need to improve fencing to keep grazing cattle away from fragile coulee land that leads to the Battle River, and the need for a berm around above-ground fuel tanks to reduce the risk of ground water contamination in the event the tank is knocked over.
"If you're putting in a fuel tank today that berm is in compliance with the Alberta Fire Code," says Prestage. "Forty years ago when I put the first tank in, I didn't even know there was a fire code."
If not already practiced, the planning process also recommends the need for improved record keeping. Producers are advised to keep a written record of chemical, fertilizer and manure applications on their land. Good management practices include soil testing, nutrient testing of manure, and incorporating manure into the soil soon after it is applied. The point is to avoid over application of nutrients which could be washed off or leached from the soil to contaminate surface and ground water.
"Anything this plan recommends is common sense stuff," he adds. "The process shows you proper practices that reduce the risk of causing environmental damage. Going through the workbook helps identify both the strengths and weaknesses of your existing farming practices. It shows where improvements can be made. It's all voluntary. You don't have to change anything. But at least you know where changes are needed."
Prestage and his wife Margaret established Arklow Angus in the 1960s, followed in the 1970s by Wicklow Angus Exporting. Arklow and Wicklow are the names of the village and county in Ireland that are home to the Prestage family roots. Today, they are joined by their son and daughter-in-law Wayne and Donna Prestage and family in managing their 75 head, purebred beef operation that's based on 320 acres of deeded land as well as rented pasture.
To anyone who asks about environmental farm planning, Prestage asks back, "Times have changed. Have you?"
"The point is that agriculture has changed over the last 50 years," he says. "We don't live in a vacuum. It's not like years ago when farmers took their meat and vegetables to town to sell door-to-door. Today, in most cases the customer is so far removed from the farm they have no idea how food is produced. At the same time they are so much more aware of environmental issues, animal welfare issues, and food safety issues. Developing an Environmental Farm Plan is one way to show consumers and world markets that we as producers are responsible managers."
Prestage is even critical of the new generation of agriculture industry inspectors and regulators. "They may have the science background, but few of them have any practical farming experience," says Prestage. "They don't have a feel for everyday production practices. So even when dealing with them, if you have a certificate that says you have an Environmental Farm Plan, it helps them understand what we do out here."
While environmental planning is relatively new to agriculture, Prestage notes the concept is standard in other industries. His son, for example, who has long been involved in the oil and gas industry notes environmental plans are essential to any resource development activity. "This plan is what the oil industry describes as due diligence," says Prestage. "They don't even blink. An environmental plan is a fundamental part of doing business. The Environmental Farm Plan is agriculture's due diligence."
Producers interested in the environmental farm planning process can contact the AEFP office in Edmonton at 1-866-844-2377 or visit the internet Web site at www.albertaEFP.com. Regional workshops can be held in communities across Alberta at virtually any time.
"It's important for producers to realize the process is voluntary and also totally confidential," points out Mike Slomp, AEFP executive director. "Producers will be involved in a local workshop with other farmers from the area, but when it comes to the specifics of their farm and actually developing a plan, that's confidential. Each workshop participant is given a confidential identification code."
Following the workshop, producers are encouraged to complete the workbook and Environmental Farm Plan at home. The workbook is sent to a review committee, which may make recommendations on changes in the plan and production practices. "But even that review committee only sees the confidential code," says Slomp. "They don't know the name of the producer associated with individual plans.
"I describe an environmental farm plan as another tool," he says. "Producers have production tools, they have a number of marketing tools and this is a management tool as it relates to the environment. Developing an environmental plan is a tool for managing risk."
A separate but complementary program shares the cost of changing farm practices that benefit the environment. The Canada-Alberta Farm Stewardship Program (CAFSP) provides up to $30,000 per farm, cost-shared with the producer, for approved improvements.
The amount of assistance varies depending on the type of improvement, which can range from improved manure storage and handling facilities, for example, to developing a grazing management plan and erosion control structures. The initial qualifier, however, is that a farm must have an appropriate Environmental Farm Plan in place to be eligible for the program. For more information on CAFSP call 1-800-667-8567.
"Farmers today are in the perception business," says Prestage. "We have to show consumers and our markets that we are responsible managers. We just have to look at the hog and poultry industries today to see traceability and farm certification programs in place that dictate that those commodities must be produced under specific standards or producers won't be able to market their products to processors.
"I don't know if having an environmental farm plan will make me money," he adds. "But looking down the road it could cost me money if I don't have it. It's the industry being proactive and managing their risk."
More information on the EFP program is available at www.albertaEFP.com or by calling toll-free at 1-866-844-2337. Information on CAFSP is available from the program office toll-free at 1-800-667-8567.
This article is reprintable with credit to AEFP as follows "Reprinted courtesy of the Alberta Environmental Farm Plan Company; www.albertaEFP.com".
