Water Use and Demand

[cakadu]

linda, the environmental farm plan will apparently cost share on some initiatives with producers. Cowman, you really do sound like someone who loves the land and the agricultural business.
Hope your son has the same devotion to the industry and carrys on what you have built. I am sure you will be there to give some good advice IF HE ASKS FOR IT !!!
The folks I work with are continually amazed by the emails they get from me at 4:00 AM etc., but heck, a person can get a lot done if they get an early start !!!

[cakadu]

A peer reviewed farm plan that is deemed appropriate can be used to access the funding available from the Canada/Alberta Farm Stewardship Program (CAFSP).

The Alberta Environmental Farm Plan Company provides the facilitated workshops that assist producers in completing their "My Farm Plan" that then goes to peer review.

Participants in the environmental farm plan (EFP) workshops - there are 2 workshops usually spaced about 1 to 2 weeks apart - are taken through the process of how to complete the workbooks and the My Farm Plan that are available at the workshop.

The CAFSP money available for projects that fall under various Beneficial Management Practices (BMP's) on a cost-share basis, some 30% and some 50%. The applicant can use in-kind labor and use of equipment valued at rates in accordance with the Alberta Farm Operations Cost Guide (available at AAFRD).

Applications for CAFSP are available at the workshops. There is a maximum of $30,000 available for project(s) and the money does not have to be spent on just one project and could include multiple projects as long as the $30,000 limit is not exceeded. Right now the program is running until March 31, 2008.

[cakadu]

The one concern I have with the Environmental Farm Plan is that there is literally no reference to legislation regarding seasonal feeding and bedding sites etc. and the risk measurements in AOPA are different than those in some areas of the Environmental Farm Plan.

[cakadu]

This is an interesting point you bring up emrald. Could you maybe expand on it a little for me and I will send your comments (anonymously) to the head office in Edmonton so that they can have a look at it?

They're always looking for feedback on the binder and the contents and it is an important point you've brought up.

[cakadu]

One instance where the AOPA legislation and the EFP differs in the area of distance from corrals to water wells.
AOPA requires that manure storage area ( which includes feedlot pens etc.) must not construct less than 100 metres from a water well and the EFP puts that at a risk 2. That potentially could give an operator that was in compliance with AOPA a higher risk rating in their EFP. It is difficult for me to explain it in this post but there are areas in the EFP that could refer to the AOPA legislation or at least a one Page reference to what AOPA requires could be added to the binder. Folks can't comply with legislation if they don't know what it is.

[cakadu]

Thanks for the clarification on this emrald, even though as you say - it is rather difficult to explain. I know that one of the recommendations from a workshop that I conducted was to have the basic AOPA regulations included in one of the apporpriate chapters because it was hard for people to know how to rate themselves.

I know that the new binders will have some changes made to them, but don't exactly know what all of the changes are and don't know when the new binders are heading off to be printed. One change I do know about is the change to Chapter 2 on Water Sources.

[cakadu]

Linda, I know that there were some discussions this past week regarding bringing the EFP into line with AOPO as far as rating is concerned.

[cowman]

The boy did the Environmental Farm Plan thing. Well he has been to both workshops and I think he said he gets the peer review sometime in March.
We had a few problems and took care of a couple of them...really just common sense things...just never thought about them all that much.
The "biggie" is the problem of watering out of flowing springs. I suspected quite awhile ago the "government boys" would come knocking, and had drilled a new well with that day in mind! When we ran water lines to the corrals and barn we put in a line in a sunken upright culvert with the idea of a waterer built over it. Hopefully a waterer that could be as energy efficient as possible. I still don't think it is necessary but am going with the flow!
We do intend to get this done this summer, but am not going to jump through the hoops to get the money. Not worth the few hundred I might(or might not) get!

[cowman]

It sounds like one of the nose pumps that grassfarmers neighbour sells would fill the bill for your watering issue cowman.

[cowman]

I've seen the nose pumps but I just don't like them. Too slow in my opinion. Cows seem to think they all need to go for water at the same time and there is always a big brawl to see who gets to drink! Now I will admit the same thing would happen at a waterer.
That is the nice part of watering at the springs. Lots of room to spread out and drink without another cow slamming the drinker in the guts!
My own opinion is hey it worked for the last hundred years, so why reinvent the wheel, sort of thing? But I also realize the times are a changin and we live under a microscope these days. Got to be pro-active.

[cowman]

In the ad on the webpage for the nose pump I notices an awful lot of ice around one of them, that always makes me nervous about cattle slipping and falling when they are fighting over getting a drink.

I always keep the ice down around the stock waterers by putting a mixture of sand and ashes from the woodstove, mixed with chicken grit !!!!! My winter recipe !

[Deb]

You folks are still here yakking! It's like coming home again.
I just checked in to see what the latest discussion was and i thought it would be all about the border closure but perhaps we are sick of it now, yes?

About water. It will get drier in this semi-arid desert and I think humans are just going to have to be realistic and move out of the areas where there is no water. It sounds harsh but this scenario will be happening world-wide. We also have to stop allowing water-greedy industry and certainly not an industry that takes the water and completely removes it from the hydrological cycle.

In the words of Forrest Gump, that is all I have to say about that.