The Province of Manitoba is providing a grant of $102,000 to support the final phase of Manitoba’s three-year Ecological Goods and Services Research Pilot project known as Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) that helps farmers and rural landowners manage their lands in alternative ways to protect natural environments in agricultural areas. 

 

“We are pleased so many farmers and landowners have stepped forward to work with us on this pilot project,” said Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives Minister Rosann Wowchuk.  “It’s a farmer-friendly approach and has created a model that all provinces could implement for agricultural conservation programs.”

 

The project pays participating landowners to maintain or enhance farm land in a manner that provides an environmental benefit. There are four eligible land categories:  natural grasslands or wooded areas, ecologically sensitive areas, riparian areas and wetlands. Payments vary in each category depending on the level of agricultural use and are based on agreements with individual landowners.

 

The pilot project was launched as part of Manitoba’s Agricultural Sustainability Initiative and involves over 21,400 acres in the Rural Municipality of Blanshard.  In the first year, 160 participants received a total of over $294,000.  In the second year, 155 participants received a total of over $300,000.

 

“ALUS takes an innovative program that allows each farmer or landowner to customize their conservation activities with their individual land and water availability,” said the minister. “The results of this initiative could have a major impact on how we address and maintain the environmentally sustainable agricultural use of our lands in Manitoba and across Canada.”

 

The minister noted the Keystone Agriculture Producers were instrumental in initiating the ALUS project and encouraging the involvement of local producers. 

 

The ALUS project is the first of its kind in Canada.  Municipalities, conservation districts and governments from across the country have expressed interest in the results of the study to assist in environmental and ecological planning for their agricultural areas.