Former AEFP Company chair John Kolk says this effort has driven environmental change in Alberta's farm sector
When a team of producers, industry and government representatives set out in the late '90s to develop what would become Alberta's Environmental Farm Plan Company (AEFP), they faced a number of challenges. Perhaps the biggest challenge was driving a program that would have the support of farmers and others, such as the non-governmental environmental lobby, groups which didn't always agree.
For John Kolk of Picture Butte, Alta., this gave him several reasons for involvement. All of those interests have played a role in his life as a successful producer, industry representative and advocate for on-farm environmental change. Underscoring his farming and industry preoccupations has been an ongoing interest in what it means to be a producer and steward of the land today.
"I've found in my own experience as a farmer that we sometimes have a tendency to take for granted that we have the best interests of the land at heart," says Kolk, who recently stepped down as chair of the Alberta Environmental Farm Plan Company (AEFP), the non-profit company which delivers the EFP program in Alberta.
"But as farms get larger and society and consumers' expectations continue to change, the industry has been taking a hard look at itself and how well it takes care of the land. The challenge was to develop a tool for producers that they could use to take a fresh look at this challenge and make real, tangible change on their farms and ranches."
Kolk identifies the early '90s as the point when he realized that environmental issues held the potential to be a divisive factor in rural communities. "In the community where we lived, there was a producer who spent his summer weekends like many producers have done through the years: putting their kids on a manure tanker and spreading manure all Saturday from morning until night," he says.
"Of course, that was also the time of year when people were bringing out their barbecues and as a result, there was disruption in the community. Many producers had gotten used to being given a certain amount of leeway by their neighbours, but with farms getting bigger and the makeup of rural communities changing, there was a collision of values."
As the '90s wore on, Kolk saw this division expand as he played a role on the Oldman River Watershed Council, an organization dedicated to the protection of the watershed that feeds tributaries throughout southwest Alberta.
"There were accusations that farmer activity in the basin was threatening public health. Although it was eventually found that there were a variety of factors contributing to public health issues in the basin, it sent a clear message that people were seeking accountability from farmers on an environmental management level."
The interests of farmers was key. It was clear from the outset that producers were concerned about the possibility of regulations being used as a tool to enforce compliance with environmental action. As the exploratory process continued, the working group found itself turning more and more to the Canada-Ontario Environmental Farm Plan program, a voluntary program in which producers play key roles in the delivery and review process, as a potential framework for Alberta's needs.
"As a producer, I liked the concept of a program that was delivered by producers with a focus on the needs of individual farmers and their situations," says Kolk. "At the same time, we realized that government still had a role to play in the process, particularly in providing technical capacity and financial incentives to producers."
The AEFP Company was formed in 2002 to oversee the program, complete with a board of directors representing the broad range of agricultural interests in Alberta. Established as a non-profit corporation to deliver the EFP program to Alberta farmers, it operates with substantial financial support and technical assistance from core partners Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada – Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (AAFC – PFRA) and Alberta Agriculture and Food (AF).
Not surprisingly, members of the board, including Kolk, were among the first to walk through the EFP process. He considers his own EFP a learning experience in the vocabulary of environmental stewardship.
"The EFP process helped give me a sense of the importance of biodiversity on a farm, what it means to have a healthy ecosystem and how that system works together to aid production," he says.
The body of technical knowledge that has driven this learning process for Kolk and thousands of other Alberta farmers is the product of a diverse network of technical assistants (TAs). Comprised of technical talent from the federal and provincial levels of government as well as a host of municipal and corporate players, this group provides the program's information backdrop as well as ongoing on-farm assistance to participants making changes identified in their farm plans.
"We felt, and still feel, that having a pool of technical talent is key to a successful program," says Kolk. "With it, the EFP program offers value to producers at all stages of the process, from help offered at workshops to advice provided after the producer has completed an EFP."
As the industry enters its next generation of on-farm environmental stewardship, Kolk believes the marketability of good management practices will be key to ongoing progress. He believes a framework rooted in the concept of ecological goods and services, in which society agrees to pay for the natural resources farmers protect and provide, will likely play a major role.
"There is no single package on which to model this framework, but you can take bits and pieces from things countries around the world have done," he says. "There's Costa Rica, for example, which has identified eco-tourism as a key driver of its economy. But ultimately, the important thing is to make continual progress and not just say 'We've solved this problem.'"
Although no longer involved in environmental advocacy in an official capacity, Kolk plans on continuing to do his part. He is in the process of building a net-energy home that will, as he puts it, "produce more energy than it uses." His long-term plans include looking for public service opportunities and, in general, continuing to move forward with his farming career.
"One thing my experience in the EFP program really reinforced to me was the fundamental importance of having a plan," he says. "You have to have an idea of what you want and how to get there. From there, it's a matter of building a structure that can help you reach that goal."
Kolk also takes pride in the growth of the AEFP Company. Industry support has grown substantially – the company now has 26 member organizations and over 7,000 producers in the province have completed an EFP. With the assistance of the Canada-Alberta Farm Stewardship Program (CAFSP), EFP participants have driven over $50 million in on-farm environmental improvements in Alberta.
Information on EFP workshops, as well as general information on the EFP program, is available by visiting the AEFP Web site at www.AlbertaEFP.com or by calling the AEFP toll-free line in Alberta at 1-866-844-2337.
This article is reprintable with credit to AEFP as follows "Reprinted courtesy of the Alberta Environmental Farm Plan Company; www.albertaEFP.com".
