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By: Dave Reid & Bryan Gilvesy Thursday, January 31, 2008 Manvers Community Centre

Farmers Growing a Better Environment for Canadians. Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) In Norfolk County. By: Dave Reid & Bryan Gilvesy Thursday, January 31, 2008 Manvers Community Centre. Farmers Growing a Better Environment for Canadians. Outline.

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By: Dave Reid & Bryan Gilvesy Thursday, January 31, 2008 Manvers Community Centre

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  1. Farmers Growing a Better Environment for Canadians Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) In Norfolk County By: Dave Reid & Bryan Gilvesy Thursday, January 31, 2008 Manvers Community Centre

  2. Farmers Growing a Better Environment for Canadians Outline • What is ALUS? Status of the Norfolk County ALUS pilot proposal and actions to date by Dave Reid, Stewardship Coordinator, NLSC • Perspective of Bryan Gilvesy re: his ALUS Demonstration Farm, the Environment and Sustainable Food Production

  3. What is ALUS? (see brochure) • Proposed national policy for Canada • Similar to US Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and European multi-functionality program • Test concept via pilots – eg. Norfolk County, MB, PEI, SK, AB and ?

  4. Landscape impact; • Developed/delivered by farmers and • the farm community; • Reward farmers via incentives (annual payments, property tax reductions, extension assistance, shared start up costs) to deliver ecological services to society

  5. Farmers Growing a Better Environment for Canadians

  6. History of Norfolk ALUS Pilot Proposal Farmers Growing a Better Environment for Canadians • Jan 16/02 Ian Wishart & Bob Bailey present ALUS concept @ OS meeting • March /02 NFA endorse pursuing pilot • Organizing committee 6x meetings in 2002 • $260 thousand expended to date (pre-pilot) originating from 24 partners … this funded actions to date • March 4 & 5/03 Evaluation workshop • Jan 31/04 Norfolk ALUS pilot proposal completed • Fund raising for County wide pilot started in spring 2006

  7. Farmers Growing a Better Environment for Canadians Operating Principles(see brochure) • Voluntary – farmers chose to participate • Capping – enrol up to 20% of farmed land • Integrated – link to EFP & existing programs • Flexible – 9-year agreement; 3-year intervals • Targeted – focus on fragile or marginal lands • Accountable – audit to ensure “bang for buck”

  8. Farmers Growing a Better Environment for Canadians Incentives • Annual payment based on land area and varying from $10 - $150/ac/yr depending upon specific service and extent of continued farm use of affected area • Share start up costs 50 – 75% while capitalizing on existing incentive programs • Extension assistance on farm • Property tax rebate

  9. Farmers Growing a Better Environment for Canadians Evaluation & Research • This is a pilot to test the ALUS concept • We don’t have all the answers • University of Guelph involvement • Two primary objectives: • Assess our community’s capacity to manage & deliver EG&S, and; • Can we successfully integrate existing programs via collaborative community structure?

  10. Pre-Pilot Actions to Date • Partnership Advisory Committee formed • in fall 2004 … 3x Norfolk farmers, 1x County • councillor, 1x Delta Waterfowl VP, 1x Long Point Foundation chair and NLSC coordinator form the core group and have met 22x to administer and manage the Norfolk pilot … guests from OMAFRA, Agricorp, MNR, OFA, LPRCA and AAFC have provided input.

  11. Benchmark Survey (6,200 mailed) in 2005 yielded 731 returns from farmers, rural non-farmers and town folk re: opinions on the current state of social, economic and environmental conditions in Norfolk County … results published July 18, 2006 and available @ NLSC website … www.ontariostewardship.org/norfolk

  12. ALUS Demonstration Watershed being • developed to restore riparian buffers on 5x • municipal drains in South Creek watershed … • involves potentially 30x farmers … aim to • increase % channel buffered from 30% to • 75%; 26 of 30 priority sites identified by MNR through GIS now have minimum 4 m. vegetated buffers … all landowners approached through farmer-to-farmer liaison … all chose the ALUS type annual payment of $150/ac/yr over 3-year agreement … this raised extent of creek length buffered from 36.4% to 71.1%affecting ~25 acresfor a 3-year cost of $11,126

  13. 4x ALUS Demonstration Farms established to show the public, interested farmers and potential investors the merits of the concept.

  14. Farmers Growing a Better Environment for Canadians Cash Commitments to Norfolk ALUS Pilot • Committed Funds ($954,800) • $15,000 National Wild Turkey Federation • $75,000 Metcalf Foundation • $25,000 Norfolk Land Steward. Council • $56,000 Wetland Drain Restoration • $2,000 Ont. Fed. of Anglers & Hunters Zone J • $2,000 Ruffed Grouse Society • $5,000 Long Point Region C.A. • $216,500 Ontario Trillium Foundation • $10,000 OFAH Fish & Wildlife Fund • $10,000 Ohio Duck Stamp • $104,440 Ministry of Natural Resources • $105,000 Canada Ontario Agreement • $120,000 Delta Waterfowl Foundation • $96,000 CanAdvance via Agricultural • Adaptation Council • $112,860 Ontario Power Generation • Tentative Funds ($2,000+) • $?????? OMAFRA Drainage Act • $?????? Participating Farmers • $2,000 Ruffed Grouse Society

  15. Farmers Growing a Better Environment for Canadians OUR WAY FORWARD • ALUS Project Coordinator hired in August of 2007 • Revised/scaled back pilot launched Sept. 20/07 … 3x field seasons and final report on test due March 31, 2011 • Winter workshops for farmers (Nov. 28/07; Dec. 5/07; Jan. 9/08) … distribute Expressions of Interest applications … 24x received to date and more expected • Establish several additional ALUS demonstration farms and many other demonstration sites • Site visits by farmer liaison and extension staff ongoing • Use GIS technology and farmer to farmer approach to target priority sites requiring restoration on Patterson Creek (6,056 ha; 13,355 ac.) • Continue to fund raise for County wide implementation

  16. Patterson Creek Buffer Restoration • 6,056 ha sub-watershed • 13,353 acres • 25% forest cover • 51% of creek length • buffered • 79 sites needing buffers

  17. ALUS Demonstration Farm Perspective By Bryan Gilvesy Proprietor of YU Ranch

  18. 8 acre prairie grass pasture • Fencing to protect adjacent • woodlands • 400’ switchgrass hedge • 100 acre Carolinian woodland • 5 a – b Bluebird nesting box trail • 6 a solar pump alternative • livestock watering • 6 b waterfowl nesting structures • (2x henhouses) • 6 c bottom draw conversion of on • stream dam for coldwater • outflow

  19. Solar panel & intake Creek crossing to be fenced Remote pasture now watered Convert to bottom draw

  20. Prairie after only 4 months Cattle enjoy pasture after mid-July ‘06 Cattle return to prairie after watering Prescribed burn spring ‘06

  21. ALUS is a landscape approach to nurture environmental services (EG&S) from private farmed land … “Farmers are the original stewards of the land and this is the foundation upon which ALUS is built” says Bauke Vogelzang, past-president, Norfolk Federation of Agriculture and senior member of our ALUS committee. The Tale’s End!

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