Sarah Alton has spent the past few years trying to modernize her family’s cattle business near Lucknow. Now, she’s turning her attention to the crops they grow. “We really want to improve them, compared to the neighboring farms. So, when the CANZA program came out, we decided this is a great opportunity for us to jump on and be a part of,” said Alton, Farm Manager at Kenruth Farms. With the help of the Canadian Alliance for Net Zero Agri-Food (CANZA), Kenruth Farms used slow release nitrogen on 400 of their 1100 acres this spring. A more expensive product, but one that’s more efficient for the plant, and better for the soil. “It’s a bit like you’re trying to make generational improvement, because you want to be sustainable for the next generation. And, also it’s more profit in the long term of the aspect, because you’re going to generate more yield with the slow release, because the plant is being able to use that nitrogen, throughout its growing period,” said Alton, a third generation farmer. Cost sharing new climate smart agriculture practices for Canadian farmers is the whole goal of CANZA. Sharing the risk of more expensive agricultural practices on the farm level, with long term goals in mind, according to CANZA officials. This year, 32 Ontario farmers took part using new regenerative farming practices on 15,100 acres. Year Two will see double that, 60 farmers and 36000 acres, thanks in part to $10.5 million in funding from the Weston Foundation. “We know that globally there’s a big movement towards regenerative agriculture, and there’s an initial window when farmers are asked to carry the cost and the risk of transitioning towards regenerative agriculture. So, the Million Acre Challenge is a two pronged program aimed at supporting farmers through that transition,” said Ashley Honsberger, Interim Executive Director of CANZA. Alton says taking part in the Million Acre Challenge has been one of the best decisions her family farm has made. “It’s a huge financial help on trying a new practice, because if you go out and you want to do a new practice, it’s expensive. The financial cost, especially in agriculture today, it costs so much money to implement a new practice. Whereas if you have a supplement income from a program like this, it makes it a lot easier,” she said. Whether it’s more sustainable fertilizer, reducing methane emissions, or funding crop rotation, CANZA aims to reach one Million Acres enrolled by 2032. “According to some of the global research that says regenerative agriculture, and the subsequent improved soil health, and all of those sorts of things actually lend well to better economics on the farm, as well as the environmental benefits. So, we’re really supporting farmers through that risky initial window,” said Honsberger.
