B.C.’s climate is changing. Hotter temperatures, insufficient snow accumulation, faster spring snowmelt, glacier loss, and reduced precipitation over extended periods of time can cause drought and water scarcity. As the climate continues to warm, drought and resulting water scarcity will become more common.
Sara and Matthew Augustine, and their farm, Augustine Ranch, an operation comprised of approximately 200 cattle, 8 hogs, and 20 chickens, located in the Cariboo. With the assistance of their planning advisor, the Augustine's completed an Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) in September 2019.
The EFP Program provides eligible agri-food sector producers with access to EFP Advisors who assist in the completion of Environmental Farm Plans.
The Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) Program is a confidential, no-cost program providing BC farmers and ranchers the opportunity to identify climate risks on their farms.
Through this program, farmers like the Augustines will identify on-farm environmental and climate risks in their operations and learn how these risks can be mitigated, with funding support potentially being available through the Beneficial Management Practices (BMP) program.
Once a producer completes an EFP, they are eligible to apply for the Beneficial Management Practices (BMP) Program through which they can access cost-shared funding to implement BMPs on their farm. With their EFP in place, the Augustine's applied for an Irrigation System Assessment through the BMP Planning, Technical Assessments, or Engineered Designs category.
"The [BMP] funding helped pay for the irrigation design plan so that we would then apply for our irrigation funding. It allowed us to see exactly what type of irrigation we needed and how to execute the plan." – Sara Augustine, Matthew Augustine
With the Irrigation System Assessment done, Sara and Matthew are now eligible for a variety of Water Infrastructure projects, such as updating their irrigation system, improving irrigation system management, and irrigation scheduling, also made possible via the BMP Water Infrastructure project category.
Funding for these programs has been provided by the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a $3.5 billion, 5-year agreement between the federal, provincial, and territorial governments. Additional funding has been provided by CleanBC. The program is delivered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC (IAF).
