January 18 deadline for On-Farm Climate Action Fund grants

ONTARIO — Ontario farmers have until Jan. 18 to apply for federal environmental money through the Ontario Soil & Crop Improvement Association. Individual grants range up to $30,000 for nitrogen management projects and up to $20,000 for cover-cropping or rotational grazing projects, through the second round of the On-Farm Climate Action Fund. Grants are also capped at 65% of project cost.

Projects eligible for funding must involve techniques that are new to the involved acreage on the farm.

One example of a nitrogen management project would be adding nitrification inhibitors to a side-dressing regime.

Approved cover crop projects must be planted in 2023. If a cover crop is to be harvested or grazed, a minimum 6 inches of growth must be left undisturbed over winter (November to March.)

The rotational grazing segment is aimed at farmers wanting to set up fencing and livestock watering systems for new rotational grazing areas or to expand existing ones. The project must involve at least 10 pasture acres containing four paddocks.

The federal government selected the OSCIA to administer the Fund’s $25 million Ontario allocation last March. It awarded millions of dollars in first-round funding to applicants last summer.