Ontario on Farm Climate Action Fund – Canada

Deadline: 18-Jan-23

Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) is inviting applications for the Ontario On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF) to provide cost-share funding to farmers to support the implementation of best management practices (BMPs) to tackle climate change through reducing emissions of GHGs and supporting increased carbon sequestration.

Cost-share support to farmers is available under the project categories of nitrogen management, cover cropping, and rotational grazing.

In Ontario, the OFCAF is delivered to farmers by the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA). Application intake dates are held between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2024.

Project Category

• Cover Cropping
• Nitrogen Management
• Rotational Grazing Systems

Funding Information

• Rotational Grazing Systems
  • Cost-share funding is available under the OFCAF at 65% of approved project costs. A farm business can access a maximum of $75,000 in cost-share for all approved applications submitted to all project categories under the OFCAF,
  • Rotational Grazing Systems has a maximum cost-share amount per project of:
    • 65% of eligible project costs, up to a maximum cost-share payment of $20,000 per project.
• Nitrogen Management
  • Cost-share funding is available under the OFCAF at 65% of approved project costs. A farm business can access a maximum of $75,000 in cost-share for all approved applications submitted to all project categories under the OFCAF, from February 2022 until March 31, 2024.
  • Nitrogen Management has a maximum cost-share amount per project of:
    • 65% of eligible project costs, up to a maximum cost-share payment of $30,000 per project.
• Cover Cropping
  • Cost-share funding is available under the OFCAF at 65% of approved project costs.  A farm business can access a maximum of $75,000 in cost-share for all approved applications submitted to all project categories under the OFCAF, from February 2022 until March 31, 2024.
  • Cover Cropping has a maximum cost-share amount per project of:
    • 65% of eligible project costs, up to a maximum cost-share payment of $20,000 per project

Eligible Activities

Cover Cropping

• Qualified, third-party consultant (e.g., CCA, P.Ag.) fees to develop a cover crop plan. A copy of the completed plan must be included with the claim submission
• Costs for implementing a practice new to the acres being applied for, to plant or intercrop cover crops to be left undisturbed over winter. The crop cannot be chemically or physically terminated in the fall or winter. A practice that is new to the acres being applied for can include planting cover crops to be left over-winter either for the first time or where they have previously been terminated or harvested in the fall. Approved projects must result in a planted cover crop in 2023. Costs may include:
  • Seed costs (must be purchased from a supplier who is at arm’s length (e.g., unrelated) to the farm business)
  • Costs of planting, including custom planting costs, equipment purchase, or equipment rental to plant the cover crop, including:
    • Specialized equipment to intercrop cover crops, including lift kits as a component of an eligible project
    • Broadcast and air seeders
    • No-till seeders
    • Components for autonomous seeding

Rotational Grazing Systems

• Materials (e.g., posts, wire, insulators, fencers, gates) and installation costs to support establishment or expansion of rotational grazing systems, including :
  • Fencing:
    • Temporary or permanent cross-fencing
    • Permanent exclusion fencing from wetlands and woodlots (must be part of a grazing management plan, see Documentation required with the application)
    • Permanent perimeter fencing (must be part of a rotational grazing management plan, see Documentation required with the application)
    • Temporary fencing to support the grazing of cover crops
    • Eligible costs for temporary fencing materials are limited to:
      • $3.50/m of installed fencing with a standard energizer
      • $6.50/m of installed fencing if a solar charger is included in the project cost
• Eligible costs for permanent fencing materials are limited to:
  • $18.00/m of installed fencing
• Watering systems and installation
  • Gravity fed systems
  • Solar, wind, or motorized powered pumps
  • Waterlines, water hydrants, water troughs
  • Storage tanks (including wildlife ladders)
  • Water aeration systems for existing ponds/reservoirs
• Purchase and installation of solar powered systems to support electric fencing
• Portable shade systems
• Establishing stream crossings (i.e., bridges, bed level, mid-level, and full flow culverts).
• One-time costs for improved pasture composition of a rotational grazing system, including:
  • Seed costs (must be purchased from a supplier who is at arm’s length (e.g., unrelated) to the farm business)
  • Custom planting costs

Nitrogen Management

• Qualified, third-party consultant (e.g., CCA, P.Ag.) fees to develop a written plan or technical assessment that addresses nitrogen management (e.g., crop nutrient plan, crop diversification plan, nutrient management plan), which may include the following costs:
  • Soil sampling, analysis, and mapping
  • Plant tissue sampling, analysis, and mapping
  • Manure sampling and analysis
• If the application is approved, the written plan must meet minimum requirements outlined here, and a copy of the completed plan or technical assessment must be included with the claim submission. Soil and/or tissue sampling, analysis, and mapping can be applied for as a technical assessment, without being part of a crop nutrient plan, but must include testing specific to nitrogen levels.
• Costs for implementing a practice that is new to the acres being applied for related to in-field nitrogen management, as recommended in a letter of support from a CCA or P.Ag. (see Documentation required with an application), including:
  • Urease or nitrification inhibitors (must be recommended in a letter of support from a CCA or P.Ag., see Documentation required with an application)
    • Itemized invoicing will be required with the claim submission or, if the stabilizer is included in the fertilizer cost, a quote from the supplier must be provided with the claim to indicate the base cost of an equivalent, non-stabilized product and cost-share funding will apply to the cost difference)
  • Costs of split application of nitrogen fertilizer (must be recommended in a letter of support from a CCA or P.Ag., see Documentation required with an application)
    • Custom application costs for additional passes for nutrient application later in the growing season
    • May include costs for diagnostic testing used for in-season rate adjustments (i.e., drone imagery, satellite imagery, pre-side dress nitrate test, tissue testing, chlorophyll testing)
  • Use of synthetic fertilizer substitute (i.e., manure, compost, digestate), including material and custom application costs (must be recommended as in a letter of support from a CCA or P.Ag., see Documentation required with an application)
• Improved placement of nitrogen fertilizer through implementing a practice that is new to the acres being applied for, including:
  • Equipment or equipment modifications to allow banding, side-dressing, below canopy application, or injection of synthetic fertilizer
  • Equipment to achieve injection applications of manure
• Equipment must be used in 2023 to implement the eligible practice for your project to be considered complete.

Eligibility Criteria

• Farm businesses are eligible to apply that are:
  • Actively farming or own actively farmed land in Ontario, as demonstrated by:
  • A valid farm business registration number (FBRN)
  • A Religious Exemption Letter provided by the OMAFRA Appeal Tribunal (provide with application submission)
  • A Cultural Exemption Letter provided by the Indian Agricultural Program of Ontario to First Nations farmers, verifying the farm business operates in a First Nations community
  • 25 acres of land or more, assessed as ‘Farm’, as indicated by the most current Municipal Property Assessment Notice or Municipal Tax Bill (provide with application submission)
  • An income exemption from the Farm Property Class Tax Rate Program (provided with application submission)
  • Have a valid and up-to-date Premises Identification (PID) Number for the farm property where the proposed project will be completed. Note that PID Numbers must be kept up to date.

For more information, visit OSCIA.