Farmers could benefit from $300K OTF grant

May 02, 2016

Grant is awarded to ALUS

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

A new grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) to Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) could benefit farmers.

The grant is worth $307,000 and will expand the ALUS program by 225 acres in Norfolk County; ALUS Canada provides funding to farmers who designate part of their land for ecosystems including water filtration and pollinator habitat, instead of traditional crop production.

“I have been a supporter of ALUS since its early says,” Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barret told the Brantford Expositor. “The program reinforces the fact that farmers are good environmental stewards.”

Grants

Farmers in Norfolk County currently use more than 1,300 acres of farmland for ecosystem and conservation efforts. With the grant, that number could rise to 1,525 by 2019.

“We are proud that OTF has recognized ALUS’ leadership role in the agricultural community for more than ten years now, and we look forward to greatly expanding our program,” said Chris Van Paassen, Chair of the ALUS Norfolk Partnership Advisory Committee.

In addition to Norfolk County, ALUS is active in Grey-Bruce, Ontario East and Bayham. It’s also present in Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island.

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.