Ontario livestock and poultry producers wanting to take part in a federal/provincial funding program to improve their land management will now need premises ID (PID) numbers to be eligible.
New for the 2011 cropping year, the Canada-Ontario Farm Stewardship Program (COFSP) will require all applicant farm businesses with either livestock or poultry as a “primary commodity” to have a PID number for the parcel of land where the project is proposed.
A copy of the PID certificate issued by OnTrace would then have to be submitted along with the farm’s COFSP project proposal application (PPA).
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PPAs for the 2011 crop year will be available starting Nov. 15 through the Ontario Soil and
Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA). Projects started on or after Sept. 15 may be eligible for the cost-share.
Among other program changes, the 2011 edition will no longer include “renewable energy production” as a best management practice (BMP) option eligible for funding.
Another BMP category, “energy conservation measures for agricultural purposes,” has been expanded to include renewable energy production for on-farm use.
And the funding cap for the program’s “improved cropping systems” category has been adjusted to $5,000 per farm business.
COFSP backs the development of BMPs to “reduce risks to water and air quality, improve soil productivity, enhance wildlife habitat, or result in energy conservation.”
Cost-shared funding for specific COFSP categories is set at either 30 or 50 per cent, up to each specific funding category’s caps.
Under the Growing Forward ag policy funding framework, the maximum federal contribution per legal farm entity with a unique Farm Business Registration Number (FBRN) is $30,000.
