Farm and Ranch Water Infrastructure Program – Pre-Screening Water Development Projects

Jun 21, 2022

As we have entered the final year of the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) suite of programming, producers are preparing and planning to complete their water development projects to utilize the funding under the Farm and Ranch Water infrastructure Program (FRWIP). FRWIP is a rebate program that provides producers a 50 percent rebate on eligible expenses to a maximum of $50,000 for the development of dugouts, wells, and pipelines for agricultural use. Before beginning any water development projects, producers should ensure that all regulatory requirements are met.

Depending on your project location, approvals that may need to be obtained include:

Wildlife Habitat Protection Act (WHPA) - This act ensures the management, conservation and protection of wildlife and wildlife lands on certain Crown lands. Any Crown leased land designated under WHPA require approval prior to proceeding with any development on these lands.
Crown Conservation Easement (CCE) – Any private land with a CCE registered on title require approval from the Ministry of Environment prior to proceeding with any development project
Critical Habitat (CH) - Falls under the Species at Risk Act. This helps to protects provincially threatened and endangered species and their habitats from risks to their survival associated with human activity.
Aquatic Habitat Protection Permit (AHPP) - AHPP ensures aquatic habitat is maintained and protected from impacts that may occur from development in or near a bed, bank, or boundary of water.
Saskatchewan Water Security Agency Groundwater and/or Surface Water Approval – Water Security Agency (WSA) approval is required for the right to use surface or ground water if the volume of a dugout is greater than 5000 m3 or if annual usage is greater than 5000 m3.
Municipal Approval – written approval from the rural municipality is required if a pipeline project will be crossing any road allowances
Authorization to Construct – written authorization from landowner will be needed if your water development project is on rented land

Your local Agriculture Program Specialist is your one stop shop for all program inquiries. They are able to assist you with questions about eligibility and pre-screening your project for any approvals that may be needed

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.