~~ Dept of Forest Resources and Agrifoods 
~~ Farm Health & Safety
Checklist 
~~ Dept of Forest Resources and Agrifoods ~~ Farm Health & Safety
Checklist 
The farming community has committed to ensuring that our families, communities and future generations inherit a rich and healthy natural resource base. The EFP Initiative promotes healthy farm families, wealthy rural communities, land stewardship, economic benefits from a rich resource base and marketing benefits tied to a green industry.
The EFP Initiative is industry led and industry driven. In this province,
the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Agriculture is responsible for introducing the EPF Initiative to the
agrifoods community in conjunction with the Atlantic Farmers' Council. Funding for the Initiative has been provided
through Agriculture and Agri-foods Canada's Green Plan, Environment Canada's Action 21 and the Canadian Farm Business
Management Program, with contributions of time and expertise from the Eastern Canada Soil and Water Conservation Centre
and provincial departments of Agriculture and Environment in the four Atlantic provinces.
Environmental farms plans are a way of looking at and thinking about your
land, your buildings and the products you use
from an environmental management perspective. Completing an Environmental Farm Plan involves you and your family
performing an assessment of the environmental resources of your operation which will help you to identify areas of
potential environmental risk.
The process begins with developing a rough map of your farm, including farm-stead sites and fields (or field groups, depending upon the size and physical layout of your operation). From this information, you can evaluate the potential risks for soil erosion, water contamination and other forms of resource degradation.
The Environmental Farm Plan itself consists of two parts -- the Farm Review and the Action Plan. The farm review is divided into four major sections: farm buildings, livestock and manure management, soil and crop management, and sensitive ecological areas. By using the workbook which is provided to assist you in the farm review, you can ignore those sections which do not apply to your operation. Therefore, you only have to work with farm review issues that are relevant to your particular farm. Each section in the workbook contains worksheets identifying farm activities which have an environmental risk potential. The worksheets help you to assess the degree of risk associated with these activities with ratings ranging from low to high risk.
Based on the farm review, an action plan can then be developed by you and your family. The action plan allows you to set realistic goals to minimise environmental risks from farming activities. Since the action plan is designed by the farm family, it meets the your specific needs and takes into account situations unique to each farm. For those areas you identify as having a potential risk, it is up to you to decide what (if any) action needs to be taken and how long such action will take.
Nobody!! Your Environmental Farm Plan is strictly confidential and
belongs solely to you and your family. However,
Atlantic Farmers Council is establishing a regional database and may ask you to provide general information from your
EFP, but strictly on an anonymous basis. This will help the Council to document the need for farm programmes which
better serve the needs of the agricultural community. The only other person to view your EFP information will be the
Project Coordinator in this province who acts as a link between the Federation and Atlantic Farmers Council.
Agriculture is the heart of many rural communities in Newfoundland. As farmers, we live and work in a physical environment which provides the resources allowing us to earn our livelihood. Rural communities are an important component of Newfoundland's character and they offer numerous benefits to municipalities and the urban population. The health of the agricultural industry, and the well-being of rural communities in this province is directly linked to the management of our natural resources. As stewards of the land, we want to ensure that our families, our communities and future generations inherit a rich and healthy natural resource base.
The competitiveness of our farms and the future of our communities is closely linked to the management of resources. Participation in the EFP Initiative is an opportunity for farmers to take ownership of agricultural environmentalism. However, farmers commit, on a voluntary basis, to the environmental farm planning process and there is no obligation for you to participate.
Certificates will be given to farm families who participate in the EFP Initiative which will show that your farm has completed an environmental farm assessment and has incorporated an Environmental Farm Plan into their operations.
Over the next few weeks and months, workshops will be held in a number
of regions around the Province. The first
workshop is scheduled for Cormack during the last week of March. The Project Coordinator will conduct the workshop with
technical support from representatives of the Department of Forest Resources and Agrifoods' Soils and Lands Division
who are assisting in such preparatory work as the farm and field mapping for soil and site characteristics. In most
areas where workshops are being held, there will be at least one local producer acting as a resource person.
The process can take any number of directions: the workbooks can be completed in group sessions, they can be taken home and completed, or any other way that works for producers. You can decide which process is best for you.
You can call or write the Federation office:
Email