On-Farm Climate Action funding announced in Nova Scotia

A new $7-million fund will help farms in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador mitigate the impacts of climate change on the environment.

Farms can apply for up to $75,000 through the On-Farm Climate Action Fund being delivered by Perennia, Nova Scotia’s food sector development agency.

“The program puts funds into the hands of farmers to help them adopt and implement farming practices that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sequester carbon in the soil,” said Charles Keddy, chair of Perennia’s Board of Directors and owner of C.O. Keddy Farms that produces strawberry plants and sweet potatoes outside Kentville.

Nova Scotia farmer Will Spurr, of Spurr Brothers Farm in Melvern Square, Nova Scotia, hopes the funding program will motivate more farmers to adopt practices such as cover cropping, which has been a valuable part of his farm business. 

“Cover cropping solved a significant problem that would normally be quite expensive, if not impossible, to solve,” says Spurr.  “We were losing half of our carrot crop due to soil-borne pests and planting the right cover crop not only improved our soil health, but also helped address the pest problem.”

When farmers make improvements in their soil organic matter, they also remove carbon from the atmosphere and sequester it in the soil. For every acre planted in cover crops, approximately half a metric ton of carbon is sequestered per year – that’s the weight of a grand piano.

Farmers adopting cover cropping, rotational grazing, or improving nitrogen can get reimbursed for up to 75 percent of eligible costs associated with adopting the new practices. The program also supports education and training for farmers and agronomists. 

The first intake of applications for project funding under the program is open until July 31, 2022. For more information about the On-Farm Climate Action Fund in Nova Scotia and in Newfoundland and Labrador, visit www.ofcaf.perennia.ca.