Climate program focuses on grazing

Oct 17, 2022

A federal program that provides up to $75,000 per applicant to help producers tackle climate change by improving farming practices will especially benefit young farmers and ranchers, says an expert.

Although the On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF) aims to help all qualifying applicants, it can be a challenge for younger or first-generation farmers, said Greg Paranich of the Grey Wooded Forage Association in Alberta.

“It’s the chicken and the egg,” he said. Young producers who can’t afford to improve their practices “won’t be able to start getting those economic benefits and those environmental benefits that contribute to that bottom line, so this I think is a really good opportunity for those farmers in particular.”

However, the program could also help established producers launch projects that would otherwise remain on the backburner, said Paranich, the association’s agricultural field specialist.

“It’s not an overnight idea, it’s something that’s been percolating,” he said about plans people have for the future of their operations. “And the one thing that’s been holding things back can be the financial capability or capacity, and this would help alleviate a lot of it.”

Ottawa is providing up to $182.7 million to 12 organizations across Canada to deliver funding for OFCAF, said a Feb. 22 federal statement. The initiative is designed to help producers adopt beneficial management practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and store carbon.

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