29 January 2025

2 minute read

By: Global Ag Media

North America

Lawrence MacAulay, Canada's Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced yesterday the expansion of the On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF), which will provide an additional $300 million to 13 organisations in continuation of their efforts to help farmers become more climate resilient over the next three years, according to a government-issued press release. 

By lowering implementation costs for adopting on-farm practices, facilitating the availability of information and agronomic services, and enabling knowledge transfer to producers and agronomists through outreach and training, OFCAF helps remove obstacles to the broader adoption of beneficial management practices. Direct support to farmers falls under these target areas:

• Cover Cropping: activities such as fall- or spring-planted cover crops (intercropping), and full-season annual or perennial cover crops in a rotation. Planting cover crops, like clover and alfalfa, cover the soil rather than being harvested, in turn adding nutrients that build organic matter, increase water access and, reduce soil erosion.
• Nitrogen Management: activities like optimizing nitrogen use by increasing legumes in rotations, and using manure and other fertilizer substitutes can provide lasting benefits to soil, air and water quality.
• Rotational Grazing: practices include new fencing and watering systems, and activities to implement low methane pastures. Rotational grazing is the practice of containing and moving livestock through pasture to allow forage plants to recover, deepen their root systems and improve soil health.

Organizations will redistribute funding through individual application intakes. Farmers across Canada are encouraged to use the On-Farm Climate Action Fund Web Tool for Farmers to determine which organisation best serves their geographic area and needs.

"Farmers don't need to be convinced that climate change is real – they're facing the impacts directly," MacAulay said. "They want to keep their land healthy, productive, and resilient. As a government, we're making historic investments so that we can continue to be a reliable supplier and leading exporter of world-class products. Building on other efforts already underway, I have no doubt that the On-Farm Climate Action Fund's expansion phase will strengthen the sector's long-term climate resiliency."
The 13 organisations to receive the funding include: B.C. Investment Agriculture Foundation, Canadian Forage and Grassland Association, ECOCERT Canada, Manitoba Association of Watersheds, Manitoba Métis Federation, Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Agriculture, New Brunswick Soil and Crop Improvement Association, Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association, Perennia Food and Agriculture Inc., Prince Edward Island Federation of Agriculture, Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR), Saskatchewan Association of Watersheds and L'Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA).