HomeSaskatchewan is of keen interest to DUC due to the sheer numbers of the continent’s waterfowl that rely on its landscape.
Saskatchewan producers prove their conservation ethic 
9,000 Saskatchewan producers step up for environment
Oak Hammock Marsh, Man., Sept. 21, 2007—When the Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister of the Canadian Wheat Board, and the Honourable Mark Wartman, Minister of Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food, made the announcement yesterday that 9,000 Saskatchewan farming operations have completed Environmental Farm Plans (EFPs) in the past two years, they made official what Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) has always believed.
That is, that the agricultural producers who earn their living off the land are the most important and conscientious stewards of farmland resources. And, when provided with the opportunity to address the environmental risks of their farming operations, they are stepping up to the plate.
Through the EFP process farmers are improving the environmental sustainability of their operations and making things better for Canadians.
“Across the country the EFP program is helping farmers improve not only the sustainability of their own operations but also the air, soil, water and biodiversity resources we all depend upon,” says Henry Murkin, DUC’s director of conservation programs. “Initiatives like this also benefit the waterfowl of this continent by encouraging the conservation of wetlands and upland nesting habitats. We commend these farmers, the federal and provincial governments, and the third party delivery agents for their success in delivering EFPs.”
Saskatchewan is of keen interest to DUC due to the sheer numbers of the continent’s waterfowl that rely on its landscape. In only two years, producers in Saskatchewan have accomplished what was originally projected to take up to five years to achieve.
“Saskatchewan’s leadership in group plans demonstrates that the partnered approach to environmental issues in the province works,” says Brent Kennedy, DUC’s Saskatchewan manager of provincial operations. “It is through these partnerships with watershed groups, the First Nations Agricultural Council of Saskatchewan (FNACS), the agricultural industry and governments that we can address environmental issues and highlight the benefits that producers provide.”
According to Murkin, it is important that this momentum continues beyond March 31, 2008 when the Agricultural Policy Framework comes to a close. This, he says, is why DUC is advocating a smooth transition from the APF to the next generation of agricultural policy in Canada.
For more information, contact:
Leigh Patterson
Corporate Media Relations Specialist
Ducks Unlimited Canada
Phone: (204) 467-3306
Toll-free: 1-800-665-3825
Email: l_patterson@ducks.ca
