An EFP snapshot
The numbers tell this story. A 500 head cow/calf operation, 2,000 head feedlot, 540 acres under irrigation, two sections of pasture, a quarter section under dryland crops, 5,000 to 6,000 tonnes of silage a year and custom work on about 3,500 acres of crops.
That's a lot of activity and Lozeman Farm near Claresholm in southern Alberta are what many in the mainstream of Canadian agriculture would proudly call a success story. Two young men, young families with a passion and big plans for a future built on farming.
When Fred Lozeman and his business partner Grant Vogelaar started in business, part of their building for the future was an understanding that their operation must fit the growing requirements for environmental standards. They completed their Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) in 2005, and like a lot of other farmers, they have found it both a valuable lesson and a business challenge.
"One of the biggest things we liked was that it didn't just tell you what you were doing wrong, it also told us the things we were doing right," says Vogelaar.
"It's nice because while some of these things are common sense, it's nice to know we are doing the right thing. We may have made the management decision for economic reasons, but it still is nice to know that it is helping the environment."
Here are some examples.
Soil testing and fertilizer management. "I'm surprised more people don't do this," says Vogelaar. "For the nominal cost to test, we may find out that we should put more on, but we may find out we should put on less. The savings there would pay for the soil test and more. Over-fertilizing may cause leaching into groundwater which becomes an environmental concern, so why not put on what we're supposed to."
Crop rotation. Along with soil testing and fertilizing to recommendation, Lozeman Farm uses crop rotation for soil management and fertilization. They are testing winter grazing, to cut down on the financial and environmental cost of hauling feed, then hauling manure.
Countering soil compaction and more. Alfalfa works great for counteracting soil compaction, but Vogelaar says they also like peas as a legume. Rotating peas through the entire cropland helps fix nitrogen, which boosts subsequent silage crop yields. And soil tilth improved tremendously. Input costs for peas are high but the benefit to the soil and following silage crop is enough reason to keep peas in the rotation.
No fall tillage, less erosion. "We don't like to work the land in the fall because we're concerned about soil blowing, so we don't fertilize in the fall with anhydrous," says Lozeman. "That avoids the potential nitrogen losses of fall fertilization."
Caps on water wells. "It's so simple. You may not think of rainwater contaminating wells but it's common sense when you do think about it. After going through the EFP binder, now when I pass a well, I check to see if the cap is on it," says Vogelaar.
Backflow preventer. "One of the first things we did was to put a backflow preventer into our watering system," says Vogelaar, "because we have a cross-connection between the house well and the feedlot well. And we test it on a regular basis to monitor water quality."
Off-stream watering. The farm is looking at off-stream watering to capitalize on the benefits of pasturing in winter and improved watering capability.
There are challenges in the physical implementation of some EFP improvements. One of the biggest is the Willow Creek, which meanders through most of the farm's land base. A sleepy, pretty waterway, it was fenced to protect the riparian area.
However, the docile creek can turn aggressive in spring run-off, and the protective fencing, installed with the best of intentions, washes out when the creek spills over its banks. That's a challenge to deal with effectively.
But the biggest challenge is time and finances. "Our input cost increases have been phenomenal and we have found we have had to work hard to prioritize, and sometimes you have to put the money into keeping going rather than into improvements," says Lozeman. "We just haven't been able to accomplish some improvements as fast as we would have liked."
Like many other farms, Lozeman Farm will continue to work at their EFP agenda. First up will be improving fuel storage, with new tanks and a new containment system.
"We really liked the level of detail in the workbook because it requires you to go through your operation from one end to the other," says Vogelaar. "When you first get the workbook it's a bit overwhelming, and because our farm covers so many things, we had to complete most of the workbook. But once you get started it's not complicated. It only took us about six hours plus two workshops to complete, and the facilitators were great to work with."
Information on the EFP program and EFP workshops across Alberta is available by calling toll-free at 1-866-844-2337 or visiting the Alberta Environmental Farm Plan Company (AEFP) 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".
