FEDERAL-PROVINCIAL-TERRITORIAL
FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT ON AGRICULTURAL AND AGRI-FOOD POLICY FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
ANNEX 1: INDICATORS TO MEASURE PERFORMANCE IN RELATION TO AGREED ENVIRONMENTAL GOALS AND TARGETS
1 DEFINITIONS
1.1 In this Annex:
"beneficial management practice" means farm production or management practice that will contribute to reducing environmental risks or realizing environmental benefits from agriculture;
"buffer strip" means vegetated land separating areas of agricultural activity from watercourses, established for the purpose of protecting such watercourses from degradation;
"habitat use unit" means each use, whether to feed, nest or other use, of a particular type of agricultural habitat by a species;
"humid farmland" means farmland for which overall precipitation (moisture input) exceeds potential evapo-transpiration (moisture output) over a year;
"nutrient management plan" means a plan which identifies sources and amounts of nutrients on farm operations and specifies ways of managing them to mitigate environmental risks;
"residual nitrogen" means an estimate of the quantity of nitrogen remaining on farmland after harvest; an estimate of the difference between the amount of nitrogen available to the growing crop from all sources and the amount removed in the harvested portion of the crop;
"setback" means a designated area separating agricultural and non-agricultural
activities; and
"tolerable risk" means the level of resource degradation that does
not exceed the rate of natural restorative processes or is within a level of
risk that society accepts.
2 ENVIRONMENTAL OUTCOMES
Water
2.1 Area of farmland posing different levels of risk of contaminating water by nitrogen. Baselines for 1996 for humid farmland were as follows: 47 per cent low risk, 39 per cent at intermediate risk, 14 per cent at high risk.
2.2 Area of farmland at different levels of residual nitrogen (surplus N above crop requirements). Equivalent baselines for 1996 were 33 per cent of farmland with less than 20 kg N/ha, 51 per cent between 20 and 40 kg/ha, and 15 per cent in excess of in excess of 40 kg/ha.
2.3 Additional indicators may be developed for the proportion of farmland posing a risk of contaminating water by nitrogen, phosphorous, pathogens and pesticides for all agricultural land in Canada.
Soil
2.4 Area of cropland at different levels of risk of soil erosion by water. Baselines for 1996 were as follows: 85 per cent at tolerable risk, 9 per cent at low risk, 5 per cent at moderate risk, 1.8 per cent at high risk and less than 1 per cent at severe risk;
2.5 Average annual rate of carbon accumulation in soils. The equivalent baseline rate in 2000 was approximately zero kg C/ha (i.e. equilibrium conditions);
Air
2.6 Levels of agricultural emissions of gases that contribute to global warming. Baseline net agricultural emissions for 1999 were approximately 65 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent.
2.7 Additional indicators may be developed for particulates and/or smoke emissions, and for odour emissions
Biodiversity
2.8 Trends in the proportion of habitat use units for which habitat area increased, remained constant or decreased.
2.9 Additional indicators may be developed regarding agriculture and biodiversity, such as agricultural benefits to biodiversity; biodiversity's benefits to agriculture; and wildlife damage to agriculture.
3 FARM ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
Farm Planning
3.1 Proportion of farms to have completed a basic agri-environmental scan.
3.2 Proportion of farms having been identified as requiring significant corrective action to have either completed an agri-environmental farm plan or participated in an equivalent agri-environmental plan.
3.3 Proportion of farms to have completed an agri-environmental farm plan or participated in an equivalent agri-environmental plan.
Nutrient Management
3.4 Proportion of relevant farms to have developed and implemented a formal nutrient management plan. May also be measured as area covered by such plans, and percentage of agricultural production covered by such plans.
3.5 Adoption levels of additional beneficial management practices such as:
3.5.1 level of use of environmentally adequate solid and liquid manure storage systems;
3.5.2 level of use of soil tests and manure testing;
3.5.3 availability of sufficient land available for safe spreading of manure;
3.5.4 level of use of adequate buffers and separation distances from manure storage and water courses;
3.5.5 level of use of environmentally appropriate fertilizer application methods; and
3.5.6 level of use of prior accounting of the nutrient content of manure when applying chemical fertilizers.
Pest Management
3.6 Proportion of relevant farms practising integrated pest management (IPM). May also be measured as area covered by IPM, and percentage of agricultural production covered by IPM.
3.7 Adoption levels of additional beneficial management practices, such as:
3.7.1 calibration of sprayers at least annually;
3.7.2 level of use of economic injury thresholds or pest monitoring as a basis for deciding when to apply pesticides;
3.7.3 proportion of pesticides applied by a formally certified applicator;
3.7.4 level of use of alternative (i.e. non-chemical) methods of pest control; and
3.7.5 proportion of farms using pesticides having adequate setbacks from watercourses.
Land and Water Management
3.8 Area of land prepared for seeding under conservation tillage or no-till systems.
3.9 Proportion of farms to have established riparian buffer strips near watercourses.
3.10 Level of bare soil days on farmland.
3.11 Proportion of relevant farms to have restricted access or controlled access of livestock to streams.
3.12 Level of use of additional beneficial practices regarding: a) water conservation; and b) protection of private farm wells and identification and de-commissioning of such wells.
Nuisance Management
3.13 Establish indicators regarding: a) the rate of adoption of best management practices for odour management and the rate of adoption of best management practices for particulate emissions.
Biodiversity
3.14 Indicators may be developed regarding agricultural management practices and biodiversity.
Note: Baseline data to be identified from the 2002 Farm Environmental Management Survey and other appropriate sources.
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| Date Modified: 2005-04-20 | Important Notices | |
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