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Results Driven Agricultural Research covers a million acres in year one

Aug 24, 2023 | 3:57 PM

In its first year, Results Driven Agricultural Research (RDAR) — a distribution partner for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF) — has supported 1,280 projects covering more than one million acres, including in central Alberta.

According to RDAR, the OFCAF extends cost-share funding to farmers, empowering them to implement best management practices that foster sustainability and environmental responsibility.

“As leaders in livestock, forage and crop production, Alberta’s producers are embracing on-farm practices that benefit both their operations and the environment,” said Lawrence MacAulay, federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. “With support through the On-Farm Climate Action Fund, producers are tackling climate change while building resiliency and a sustainable, competitive agriculture sector.”

RDAR CEO Mark Redmond adds, “We are pleased to share the program’s success, supporting producer-led projects to address environmental and economic concerns – increasing profitability, improving long-term productivity, and powering sustainability.”

He says the strong demand for funding is evidence that Alberta farmers and ranchers are motivated to mitigate climate change while still growing revenues at the farm gate, protecting the environment, and producing food for the world.

Central Alberta projects worth a combined $600,000 occurred in Red Deer, Lacombe and Kneehill County, with $10 million distributed across Alberta.

In local areas, projects focused on:

· Rotational Grazing (17 projects)

· Cover Cropping (9 projects)

· Nitrogen Management (26 projects)

RDAR says while the OFCAF program is currently paused to assess remaining 2023 funding, they encourage interested parties to visit rdar.ca/ofcaf and subscribe to the OFCAF newsletter for program updates.