An article featuring Farmland Advantage and IAF appeared in the March 2022 edition of Country Life BC.

Farmland Advantage (FLA) targets sensitive ecosystems in farming areas and provides funding to identify restoration and maintenance actions that support ecosystem services: the things provided by healthy ecosystems, such as clean air, fresh water, and mitigation of climate change impacts such as the flooding and wildfire risks. Farmland Advantage works with producers, local organizations, and Indigenous communities to undertake the required restoration work and maintain ecosystem services over the long term. Some key actions that are taken include removing invasive species, establishing fencing along streams to manage livestock, and planting native species in riparian areas.

FLA began in 2009 by Invermere BC rancher Dave Zehnder in partnership with the Windermere District Farmers Institute and other supporters. What began as a pilot project quickly grew, establishing over 60 demonstration sites in the first 10 years. IAF began officially administrating and delivering the FLA program in the Spring of 2021. IAF’s goal is to grow and expand the program to assist hard-working farmers who look after their land, so the land can continue to work hard for everyone.
IAF is an industry led, not for profit that delivers government funded programs to the agriculture and agri-food sector of British Columbia. IAF has been involved in many initiatives aimed at addressing climate change, including GHG reduction and carbon sequestration. Over the past few months IAF began delivering the Environmental Farm Plan and Beneficial Management Practices (EFP & BMP) programs and the Climate Change Adaptation Program (CCAP) programs, which were previously administered by the BC Agricultural Council through their subsidiary, ARDCorp. Both CCAP and the EFP & BMP programs are funded through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative.

The EFP & BMP programs provide eligible agri-food sector producers with access to consultants to assist in the completion of Environmental Farm Plans and support the application process to BMP funding. CCAP is led by industry with the goal of helping producers successfully adapt to the impacts of a changing climate.

To learn more about programs delivered by IAF, please visit iafbc.ca.

To view the publication visit Country Life in BC