NFA News

Delhi, ONTARIO: On Wednesday, November 28, 2007 the Norfolk ALUS Committee will host a Farmer-to-Farmer Information Session detailing the opportunities available through the Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) Pilot Project in Norfolk County. This session will commence at 7:30pm at the Delhi District Hungarian Hall, located at 71 King St. in Delhi.

The Norfolk Federation of Agriculture leads a collaborative of over 56 partners contributing to the testing of the Alternative Land Use Services concept in Norfolk County over the next three years. At this time, limited funds are available to implement the three-year Pilot Project on a modest scale; targeting priority watersheds for grassed buffers and the development of 3-5 more Demonstration Farms. The ALUS committee hopes that through continued fundraising a County-wide Pilot can be made available to all Norfolk farmers in the future.

Alternative Land Use Services is a concept pioneered by grassroots farm organizations across Canada to help meet the growing demand for environmental products, such as clean air and greenhouse gas reductions, clean water, fish and wildlife habitat, conservation of species at risk and pastoral landscapes from agricultural landscapes. “ALUS is a positive way of enlisting farmers and rural communities to help satisfy the environmental demands of society,” says Frank Nightingale, president of the Norfolk Federation of Agriculture, “these next generation farm ‘products’ are referred to as “environmental goods and services,” and farmers are uniquely positioned to provide these benefits to society.” ALUS identifies the need for society to reward the stewardship efforts of farmers providing these environmental goods and services; and accomplishes this through an incentive payment agreement.

For more information please contact Eric Cleland – ALUS Project Coordinator @ 519-426-5999 ext. 2220 or eric.cleland@norfolkcounty.ca

by Eric Cleland

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