But all it takes is one major storm hitting a working field with poor run-off protection to have devastating consequences.
All of a sudden, that dug-out that kept the cattle watered or lake that acted as a reservoir can be polluted with manure, fertilizer and pesticides, leading to massive algae blooms or even outright poisoning the water source.
And that’s not including the environmental damage outside the farm itself, with bodies of water being literally stripped of life due to the mass of chemicals that affect nature’s ability to find food and reproduce.
A new offering under the Farm Stewardship Program through the governments of Canada and Saskatchewan aims to help cow and calf farmers prevent that from happening.
The new beneficial management practice for cow-calf producers will offer funding of up to 75 per cent of project costs, to a maximum of $15,000, for the development of preventative run-off control measures.
Projects can include holding or retention ponds for collecting run-off, ditches, berms or dykes and earthwork or pen regrading to achieve proper run-off.
“I feel for the many Saskatchewan producers dealing with moderate to extreme drought conditions across much of the province this year,” said Marie-Claude Bibeau, Canada's Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. “Together with our provincial counterparts, we are working to build a sustainable future for our farm families, because we know farmers are on the front lines of climate change. Producers can now access this program which will help them to protect their valuable water sources and support their adoption of sustainable management practices.”
Fortunately, modern farming practices often make controlling run-off a major focus of operations, meaning this funding will help continue to improve an issue that is already in the limelight.
“As stewards of the land, producers take their responsibility to protect water sources seriously,” Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister David Marit said. “This program will provide additional funding for Saskatchewan cow-calf producers and assist them with making improvements to their operations.”
The Farm Stewardship Program is funded through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a five-year, $3 billion investment by federal, provincial and territorial governments to strengthen and grow Canada's agriculture, agri-food and agri-products sectors.
This includes a $2 billion commitment that is cost-shared 60 per cent federally and 40 per cent provincially/territorially for programs that are designed and delivered by provinces and territories. More than $155 million of this funding comes from the Government of Saskatchewan.
