The National Environmental Farm Planning Initiative

The Government of Canada's National Environmental Farm Planning Initiative will help Canada's agricultural producers develop and implement environmental farm plans (EFPs) through provincially delivered EFP programs. Objectives of the National Environmental Farm Plan Initiative include:

• helping the agriculture sector better identify its impacts on the environment; and
• promoting the growth of stewardship activities within the agriculture industry.

The National Environmental Farm Planning Initiative supports the environmental objectives of the federal-provincial-territorial Agricultural Policy Framework by:

• assuring Canadians that agricultural resources are being managed in a sustainable fashion; and
• helping to brand Canada in the global market as a source of safe, high-quality food produced in an environmentally responsible manner.

OVERVIEW

Through provincially delivered EFP programs available to all agricultural managers across Canada, producers are encouraged to develop environmental farm plans, implement beneficial management practices (BMPs) and to continuously evaluate the environmental performance of their farming operations.

An environmental farm plan is a voluntary and confidential process used by individual farmers to systematically identify environmental risks and benefits from their own farming operation, and to develop an action plan to mitigate the risks. The EFP process allows farmers to set priorities for actions which address on-farm environmental concerns, as well as those which serve the public interest.

Environmental farm planning provides farmers with better tools to manage their operations in an environmentally responsible manner. Producers who develop an EFP have an increased awareness of environmental risks and benefits on the farm, and potential solutions for managing them.

Producers who develop EFPs may be eligible for technical and financial assistance to implement their on-farm action plans through the National Farm Stewardship Program and the Greencover Canada Program.

Please click on the appropriate link below for more detailed information about the National Environmental Farm Planning Initiative in your province / territory.

YT   BC   AB   SK   MB   ON   QC   NB   NS   PE   NL