|
SINCE SEPTEMBER 2022, SAW HAS COMPLETED
OVER 575 PWCP APPLICATIONS!
Agricultural Climate Solutions – On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF) is a $200 million, 3-year fund (from 2021 to 2024) which funds 12 different programs to support farmers in adopting beneficial management practices (BMPs) that store carbon and reduce greenhouse gases as well as provide other environmental benefits such as improved biodiversity and soil health. Activities such as outreach, education, and training are supported to promote the adaption of the BMPs.
The Prairie Watersheds Climate Program (PWCP) is one of the OFCAF programs available in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The PWCP is being led by the Manitoba Association of Watersheds (MAW) and delivered in Manitoba by Manitoba’s Watershed Districts and in Saskatchewan by the Saskatchewan Association of Watersheds (SAW). This program provides up to $40 million in financial support, through OFCAF, to producers in Manitoba and Saskatchewan to accelerate their adoption and implementation of on-farm beneficial management practices (BMPs) to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, support production efficiency, sustainability, and resiliency on their farm operations. To assist producers with their adoption of new BMPs, the program offers producers resources to support BMP implementation and provide BMP design recommendations.
The three BMP streams in the PWCP program are:
1) Improving nitrogen management:
for example, agronomic services to develop farm-specific nutrient management plans, equipment modifications for fertilizer application in fields, nitrification and urease inhibitors, and soil sampling and analysis.
2) Increasing adoption of cover cropping:
for example, payment-per-acre to cover adoption or related costs such as seeds and equipment. Cover crops are plants, like clover and alfalfa, that are planted to cover the soil rather than for the purpose of being harvested.
3) Expanding the adoption of rotational grazing:
for example, agronomic services to develop grazing management plans, interior cross fencing, water system infrastructure, legume and forage seeds. Rotational grazing is the practice of containing and moving livestock through pasture to allow forage plants to recover, deepen their root systems and improve soil health.
In order to be eligible for the PWCP, the BMPs implemented must be a new practice to the producer or on new acres (if it is an existing practice), and it also must be endorsed/recommended by a licensed agrology professional. The goal of the program is to see an increase in the number of acres these BMPs are implemented on while ensuring producers are receiving sound agronomic advice.
There is a $75,000 cap on the PWCP, and this is the maximum amount of funding that a producer can receive from all OFCAF programs. Funding received through PWCP will be considered “farm support payments” as per subsection 234(2) of the Income Tax Act R.S.C 1985. As such, all payments to farmers are to be considered income for the farm business and are subject to Income Tax. MAW will be preparing and submitting annually to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) AGR-1 forms for each PWCP payment to producers.
Producers can seek registration and offset credits under voluntary offset credit programs for GHG emissions reductions generated with the support of the PWCP. The ability of producers to participate in these markets will be subject to eligibility requirements set up by the specific voluntary offset program(s). However, producers cannot apply to any regulatory carbon offset program for the GHG emissions reductions in the fiscal year(s) in which they receive PWCP funding. Regulatory carbon markets are mandatory or compliance programs that are created and regulated by government, as opposed to voluntary markets, which allow companies to buy and sell carbon offsets for their own purposes or goals.
| 
