File photo of greenhouse food production systems in British Columbia. (KarenMassier/iStock/Getty Images)

B.C. to back Indigenous food system projects

New program taking applications starting Monday

A new British Columbia program will provide up to $80,000 each for projects in agriculture, food processing or other sectors to improve food security in that province’s Indigenous communities. The province on Wednesday rolled out a new Indigenous Food Systems and Agriculture Partnership Program, which is set up to take applications starting Monday (Sept. 26) […] Read more

The OFCAF program is part of the federal government’s effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture.

Window for getting climate fund cash closes in early November

There’s been a rush of applications for grants, which can be as much as $75,000 per farm

Reading Time: 2 minutes The main Alberta administrator of funding under the On-Farm Climate Action Fund — a program offering up to $75,000 per farm — says its application deadline for the first round of funding is Nov. 7. Around 200 operations put in applications in the first month after the application window opened Aug. 4, Results Driven Agriculture […] Read more


Prince Charles (now King Charles III) visits Shane Fitzgerald’s Kil Mige Mogue farm near Waterford in southeast Ireland on March 24, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Phil Noble/Pool)

What will King Charles’s reign mean for climate action?

Some projects may be handed to other family members

London | Thomson Reuters Foundation — As Britain’s King Charles III begins his reign after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, environmental campaigners will be watching closely to see if he continues to advocate for climate action and is able to help drive change as monarch. In his first speech to the nation […] Read more

Internally displaced Ethiopians queue to receive food aid in the Higlo camp for people displaced by drought, at the town of Gode in Ethiopia’s Somali region on April 26, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Tiksa Negeri)

Acute food insecurity now touching 345 million worldwide

Baghdad | Reuters — The number of people facing acute food insecurity worldwide has more than doubled to 345 million since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, conflict and climate change, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Wednesday. Before the coronavirus crisis, 135 million suffered from acute hunger worldwide, Corinne Fleischer, the WFP’s regional […] Read more


An excerpt from a federal policy discussion paper released in May 2022: “Given the essential role of nitrogen fertilizer in Canadian agriculture, actions to achieve emissions reductions will focus on improving nitrogen management and optimizing fertilizer use, and not on a mandatory reduction in the use of fertilizers.”

Comment: Cutting fertilizer emissions and cutting fertilizer use aren’t the same thing

Critics sow needless concern about federal plans, which are based on policies the industry has been promoting

Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Farmers came away from the recent federal, provincial and territorial ministers meeting in Saskatoon with a few items stroked off their wish list. Farm organizations welcomed a $500-million or 25 per cent increase in cost-shared funding over five years, half of which will help farmers fight climate change and reduce emissions. The […] Read more

Smoke billows during a fire in an area of the Amazon rainforest near Humaita, Amazonas State, Brazil on Aug. 14, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino)

Market value alone is selling nature short, governments told

Economic valuations needed but 'not sufficient,' co-chair says

Reuters — What is the value of a river? Is it for the nutritional content of the fish it sustains? The economic benefit of the local livelihoods it supports? Or does the river have its own value which humans cannot measure? Such questions may seem removed from the issues the world faces, from deepening climate […] Read more



The Grey Wooded Forage Association will be ready to help producers navigate the process of applying for On-Farm Climate Action Fund cash — but like many others is waiting for details, said manager Tatyana Irodenko.

Fortune favours the speedy when it comes to grants 

Focus On Practical Energy: Federal farm programs often pay out large sums, but they can become fully subscribed very quickly

Reading Time: 2 minutes It’s a simple equation: federal cash for green initiatives goes to those farmers who apply for it.  Already this year, the $18-million Agricultural Clean Technology program stopped taking applications because of high demand.  Up next is the $185-million On-Farm Climate Action Fund, which will help pay for costs for improving nitrogen management, cover cropping and […] Read more


Some green initiatives just aren’t practical on large- scale commercial operations, says Terence Hochstein, executive director of the Potato Growers of Alberta.

Ottawa’s focus on green programs a concern for some farm groups

Focus On Practical Energy: While the programs are fine, producers also need ones that don’t fall into the green ‘bucket,’ they say

Reading Time: 4 minutes The flood of federal funding for adopting environmentally friendly farming practices is a positive step, but also a “drop in the bucket,” says the general manager of Alberta’s cereal commissions. Producers should definitely apply for the On-Farm Climate Action Fund (which offers 85 cents on the dollar for certain green practices), said Tom Steve of […] Read more

A federal grant covered half the cost of this new $200,000 air cart, which has made his family’s farm more efficient and cut diesel consumption substantially, said Mackenzie Fingerhut.

The federal government sows cash to reap environmental rewards

Millions are being given to farms to lower greenhouse gas emissions but applying isn’t quick and easy

Reading Time: 3 minutes The federal government continues to distribute millions of dollars to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from farms, but the application process is time consuming, says a successful applicant. Under the Agricultural Clean Technology program, 47 farms and ag businesses recently received a total of $15.2 million in grants for solar panels, energy-efficient grain dryers and […] Read more