Reading Time: 3 minutes Pearl Gregor was on the phone the instant she read about ALUS Canada in her county newspaper. “When I heard about ALUS, it was automatic — I had to do it,” said the New Sarepta-area cattle farmer. “We’ve lost so much of the Alberta wetlands. As farmers, we need water, so we need ALUS.” ALUS […] Read more
Wetland protection a no-brainer for cattle producer
Eco-services group to capture flood waters on farms and ranches
Reading Time: < 1 minute ALUS Canada has been given a $720,000 grant from Alberta Environment and Parks’ Watershed Resiliency and Restoration Program for flood-prevention work. “We are excited to start putting this funding to good use on the ground in the Modeste subwatershed,” said Lara Ellis, the organization’s director of strategic initiatives. “ALUS will quickly establish new natural infrastructure […] Read more
One-stop shop for eco-services programs
Reading Time: < 1 minute Looking for an ecosystem services program that fits your operation? Alberta Beef Producers has created a seven-page fact sheet of several dozen programs. These include programs focused on conservation; wetland protection and management; and offsets. The fact sheet also breaks out several programs from Ducks Unlimited Canada, projects funded under Growing Forward 2, and Alternative […] Read more
Donation will spark conservation projects across southern Alberta
A $500,000 gift from philanthropist David Bissett will fund 186 projects on 39 farms and ranches
Reading Time: 3 minutes A$500,000 donation will create almost 1,000 additional acres of conservation land in southern Alberta. “This funding pretty clearly identifies ALUS’s niche,” said Bryan Gilvesy, CEO of ALUS Canada, the organization receiving the donation. “This program isn’t about the traditional environmental ethics of protecting existing features. This harnesses the skills and energy of farmers and ranchers […] Read more
Stewardship program ‘putting our money where our mouth is’
For producers involved with the ALUS program, ecosystem services become a type of production like any other
Reading Time: 4 minutes The poplars ringing Adrienne Herron’s wetland stopped growing where her cattle and horses were grazing, and just wouldn’t rebound. That was a real wake-up call for the Innisfail-area rancher. “I was concerned by the impact I was having on this ephemeral wetland with the cows and horses keeping the grass down as much as they […] Read more
New Acre program produces a new kind of commodity
Corporations can ‘offset’ their environmental impact by funding stewardship projects on farms
Reading Time: 2 minutes Say you own a brewery (that’s the dream, right?). You’ve taken a close look at the changing consumer landscape and you think you understand what your customers want. Sure, they expect a good product — but more than that, they want a product they can feel good about buying. So you decide to show your […] Read more
Environmental stewardship program gets funding boost
ALUS Canada also recognizes Parkland County rancher Gerry Taillieu with producer innovation award
Reading Time: 2 minutes An organization that supports farmers and ranchers who provide ecosystem services has received $5 million in funding from the W. Garfield Weston Foundation. ALUS Canada has also awarded Alberta rancher Gerry Taillieu its inaugural Producer Innovation Award. The $5 million in funding will allow expansion of the ALUS (short for Alternative Land Use Services) program […] Read more
Program that rewards stewards of the land is taking off in Alberta
More than 100 Alberta farmers have signed up for ALUS, and that number is expected to grow rapidly
Reading Time: 3 minutes The movement to pay farmers for being good stewards of the land is gathering steam, with 10 counties in Alberta now having a local ALUS program. ALUS — short for Alternative Land Use Services and pronounced ‘Alice’ — is expanding across Canada and recently became a national, registered not-for-profit. “This kind of growth and recognition […] Read more
ALUS program expands to Quebec
The Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) program has made its move into a sixth province with a new project in Quebec’s Monteregie. ALUS Canada, working with the Monteregie branch of Quebec’s Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA), formally launched the program Wednesday at its first Quebec location, a farm near St-Jean-Baptiste, south of St-Hyacinthe. ALUS, in […] Read more
Ecological services program catching fire in Alberta
ALUS grew slowly after arriving in Alberta in 2010, but it’s taken off in the past year and now 10 counties are on board
Reading Time: 4 minutes The notice in the county newsletter about funding for environmental projects immediately caught the attention of Gerry Taillieu. “I thought, ‘This is something I need to look into’ because it was offering financial assistance to do something we were already going to do,” said the manager of Tomahawk Cattle Ranch, a 14,000-acre operation in Parkland […] Read more
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