Our own environmental "Report Card"
In Ontario, nearly 70% of farmers have voluntarily evaluated their farm practices with an Environmental Farm Plan (EFP). Through the EFP process, farmers highlight environmental strengths on their farm, identify potential areas of environmental concerns, and set realistic goals and timetables fro improvements.
Together farmers have invested over $100 million of their own money in on-farm environmental improvements through this program alone.
For every dollar that the government invests to help farmers make environmental improvements, it is estimated that farmers spend an additional $6 of their own money.
We had been planting windbreaks, thousands of Blue Spruce, Cedar, Douglas fir and other trees since 1970 as a way to help combat wind erosion. Since doing the Environmental Farm Plan, we´ve also switched to no-till farming practices, wherever possible, on corn and soybean fields; and some of our lighter lands have been sown to grass crops to further discourage wind erosion while providing feed for the animals.
Larry Chanda, farmer
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