County of Two Hills - Environmental Programs

ALUS Canada

ALUS Canada is a national not-for-profit organization that supports the delivery of the ALUS program across the country. For more info on the ALUS program in the Two Hills region, please click here.

Ecosystem Services
Active in six provinces to date, the ALUS program works with farmers and ranchers to produce valuable ecological services on Canadian farmland.

These ecological services include clean air, clean water, flood mitigation, climate adaptation, carbon sequestration, species at risk habitat and support for our native bees and pollinators.

Projects
Specifically, ALUS helps farmers and ranchers restore wetlands, reforest, plant windbreaks, install riparian buffers, manage sustainable drainage systems, create pollinator habitat and establish other ecologically beneficial projects on their properties.

ALUS provides annual payments to its participants to ensure the ongoing stewardship of each of their ALUS projects.

Partners
For over a decade now, ALUS Canada has been building excellent relationships within agricultural communities while perfecting its unique mechanism for delivering conservation outcomes from Canada’s rural acres.

Thanks to the generous commitment of The W. Garfield Weston Foundation and other dedicated supporters, ALUS Canada is rapidly expanding into many new communities across the country.

Results
In this way, ALUS turns marginal farmland into productive ecosystems, linking Canada’s natural heritage across agricultural lands.

MISSION STATEMENT

ALUS Canada’s mission is to enable Canadians to provide direct support to a national network of farmers and ranchers delivering ecosystem services in their communities, including cleaner air, cleaner water, carbon sequestration, erosion control, flood mitigation, pollinator support and wildlife habitat.

VISION STATEMENT

Community-developed and farmer-delivered, ALUS sustains agriculture, wildlife and natural spaces for all Canadians, one acre at a time.

STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES

The ALUS Canada program rests firmly on eight core principles:

ALUS is farmer-delivered: As the largest single group of landowners in Canada, agricultural producers are in a unique position to provide important solutions to some of the most pressing conservation challenges of our time, including climate change and biodiversity loss.
ALUS is community-developed: The ALUS program is flexible, designed to be customized by local communities to respect local agricultural and environmental priorities. From Red Deer, Alberta, to Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, each ALUS program is managed by a local ALUS Coordinator and a Partnership Advisory Committee (PAC), which is made up of agricultural producers and such local stakeholders as municipalities, conservation groups, farm associations and government agencies. In every ALUS community, it is the local PAC that determines how the local ALUS program will be run—within the tried, tested and true framework of ALUS Canada’s principles, guidelines and materials.
ALUS is integrated: The delivery of the ALUS program is intended to complement existing conservation programs, including federal and provincial government policy frameworks. ALUS programs across the country have developed many community partnerships with conservation organizations, agricultural groups and different levels of government.
ALUS is targeted: The program focuses on marginal and ecologically sensitive parcels of land that can be managed in a different manner to produce ecosystem services that benefit all Canadians.
ALUS is accountable: ALUS projects are independently monitored, verified and audited.
ALUS is science-based: Based on sound scientific principles and verification guidelines, ALUS provides valuable support and technical expertise for the design and implementation of each green infrastructure project.
ALUS is voluntary: Farmers and ranchers who choose to participate in the ALUS program have flexible agreements that suit their particular operation.
ALUS is market-driven: The ecosystem services produced by ALUS projects have economic value on the marketplace, one that ALUS Canada is actively developing. Through ALUS Canada, citizens, corporations and philanthropists can invest directly in Canadian environmental stewardship, one acre at a time.

For more information on the ALUS program, please contact your local program coordinator, or the team at ALUS Canada

https://alus.ca/alus_community/alus-two-hills/

Alberta Environmental Farm Plan

The Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) is a voluntary, whole farm, self-assessment tool that helps producers identify their environmental risks and develop plans to mitigate identified risks. Over 9,000 Alberta producers have demonstrated their commitment to environmental stewardship by completing an EFP.

An EFP helps you to identify what you are already doing well, and pinpoint areas needing improvement. It is a great tool for identifying and planning projects to improve environmental stewardship on-farm. Depending on your farm, you can typically complete an EFP in 1-2 days, and once your EFP is approved you become eligible for funding under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change programs.

Late fall and through the winter is a great time to work on your EFP and start planning projects (but EFPs can be done at anytime). For more information on the EFP program, or for assistance with beginning, finishing or renewing your EFP please contact our Municipal Conservation Coordinator.

Note: Effective April 1, 2018, producers who have an EFP older than 10 years will have to renew their EFP to be eligible for funding under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership Program (CAP). Producers who have not completed an EFP or who completed one prior to 2008 should renew now to ensure eligibility.

Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP)

The Canadian Agricultural Partnership is a five-year, $3 billion federal-provincial-territorial investment in the agriculture, agri-food and agri-based products sector that began in April 2018, and is the successor of the 2013-18 Growing Forward 2 partnership. In Alberta, the Canadian Agricultural Partnership represents a federal-provincial investment of $406 million in strategic programs and initiatives for the agricultural sector. 15 programs will be rolled out in total, with all programs set to be open by the end of 2018.

In Alberta, the Canadian Agricultural Partnership will deliver programs developed in consultation with stakeholders, and is organized under five themes: Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change; Products, Market Growth and Diversification; Science and Research; Risk Management; and Public Trust.

To stay up to date on all the programs make sure to “Sign up for updates” on the CAP website (www.cap.alberta.ca). For more information or assistance with applications please contact our Municipal Conservation Coordinator.

RDAR On-Farm Climate Action Fund

Program Overview
OFCAF offers financial assistance to agricultural producers to help them adopt and implement Beneficial Management Practices (BMPs) on their farms. These practices aim to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, improve production efficiency, and enhance farm sustainability and resilience.

To support producers in adopting new BMPs, the program provides resources, implementation guidance, and customized BMP design recommendations.

Program Delivery
RDAR has been chosen by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada as a delivery partner to administer funding for this initiative.

Eligibility
To qualify for funding, applicants must meet the following criteria:

Be an active agricultural producer operating as a proprietorship, corporation, or registered partnership in Alberta.
Demonstrate a minimum annual gross farm income of $25,000 in Alberta.
Collaborate with a Professional Agrologist (PAg) or Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) to create a BMP Action Plan.
Be based in Alberta and use funding exclusively for eligible projects within the province.
Have a minimum project cost of $2,500.
Cover all expenses upfront (in-kind contributions are not eligible). Note that all reimbursements are considered taxable income.

For more information, or to apply, please visit: https://rdar.ca/funding-opportunities/ofcaf

CFGA On-Farm Climate Action Fund: Rotational Grazing Program

First introduced in 2021, the On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF) began as a $200-million program aimed at helping farmers address climate change. With its recent expansion, the program has grown to $704.1 million and will continue for another three years, providing ongoing support to farmers as they work to strengthen their climate resilience.

The fund’s purpose is to assist producers in adopting beneficial management practices (BMPs) that help capture carbon and lower greenhouse gas emissions. The three key focus areas are:

Nitrogen management
Cover cropping
Rotational grazing

The Canadian Forage and Grassland Association (CFGA) is exclusively responsible for delivering support for rotational grazing initiatives in Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec, and Saskatchewan.

Eligibility
Eligible applicants for the CFGA-administered portion of OFCAF include individual farmers, incorporated operations, and farm partnerships located in Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec, or Saskatchewan. Applicants must be recognized agricultural producers by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), with a GST number and a minimum level of farm income. A Social Insurance Number (SIN) or Business Number (BN) will be required, and any funding disbursed will be issued in the name matching the CRA-registered farm business.

Applicants should note that site visits to verify implementation may be required before reimbursement is processed.

For more information, or to apply, please visit: https://www.canadianfga.ca/en/projects/farm-climate-action-fund/

Shelterbelts

Listed below are private suppliers of shelterbelt trees. This list is provided for information only; the County does not work directly with any of these suppliers.