Grants are available for producers wanting to reduce the environmental impact of livestock manure.
There are three categories of grants available from the Environmental Stewardship and Climate Change Producer program, which is part of the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, said Chris Ullmann, agri-environmental extension specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry.
One is Category B: Manure and Livestock Facility Management, he said.
“The target here is to help livestock producers improve an existing site or to change their manure management in such a way that it reduces the risk to surface water or groundwater at a manure or livestock site,” said Ullmann.
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The program uses six “activity codes” for the different types of projects.
“Grants can be used to hire a professional, such as an engineer, to help evaluate and design a solution,” he said. “There is coverage for construction of an improvement or a storage facility to help a producer better time their manure application. There are projects to help with surface water and controlling run-on and run-off from livestock facilities, as well as to relocate a site when that is the only solution.”
There is also an activity code for manure handling.
“Equipment that improves nutrient use efficiency, decreases nutrient loss, or increases public safety may be eligible,” said Ullmann. “This includes items like drag line road crossings, drag line equipment, injection delivery systems, or an emergency manure spill kit.”
There is also an open category for producers who have a new or innovative solution.
Projects must address an existing risk and cannot be used to expand or develop a new operation.
For details, call 310-FARM (3276) or go to ‘Programs’ on the Canadian Agricultural Partnership page posted on the Alberta Agriculture website.
