Farm Credit Canada is prepared to pay farmers up to $2,000 to adopt 4R nutrient management practices using AgExpert, it announced today.
“We see an opportunity to reward FCC customers who follow Fertilizer Canada’s 4R Nutrient Stewardship Program,” said FCC president and CEO Justine Hendricks in a news release.
“Streamlining the data management and verification process through [accounting and record-keeping platform] AgExpert creates a simple way for producers to implement climate smart agricultural practices and create the best outcomes for their operations,” she added.
FCC announced the new Sustainability Incentive Program at the Western Canadian Crop Production Show in Saskatoon. The program is open to FCC customers who put a 4R nutrient management plan in place, record production activities through AgExpert Field, and have their 4R practices verified by a 4R designated agronomist.
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Fertilizer Canada’s 4R Nutrient Stewardship is a framework of best management practices that involve using the right source of fertilizer at the right rate, right time, and right place. It’s seen as a way to use fertilizer more efficiently and reduce environmental impacts.
Activities in a 4R nutrient stewardship plan could involve soil testing, subsurface banding of fertilizer, use of enhanced efficiency fertilizers, variable-rate application, and others.
Incentive payments are calculated as a portion of the farmer’s lending with FCC to a maximum of $2,000, FCC’s website says.
Those who apply will need an AgExpert Field Premium account.
Producers are encouraged to connect with a 4R agronomist and prepare ahead of the program’s official opening in May 2024.
—Geralyn Wichers is associate digital editor of AgCanada. She writes from southeast Manitoba.
