Manage Nutrients and Runoff
Manage Nutrients and Runoff
Keep your livestock healthy and reduce your veterinarian costs by improving your manure management, diverting clean water and restricting livestock access to watercourses.
Manure Management
50% of project costs up to $20,000
Though building a new manure storage and handling system can be costly, it offers numerous advantages. Manure storage makes it easier to get manure in the right place, at the right time, and it can improve the quality of your soil and the health of your crops. Proper storage and handling can also ensure cleaner and healthier livestock.
Clean Water Diversion
50% of project costs up to $5,000
Diverting water around your buildings can benefit you and your livestock. By installing diversion structures that direct water away from barnyards, exercise yards or manure storage areas, you’ll be preventing dirty water from running into streams and ditches, and you’ll also be keeping your livestock from standing in the mud.
Restricting Livestock from Watercourses
50% up to $10,000 (Maximum of $40/m)
Clean drinking water is important to livestock health and performance. Fencing livestock away from watercourses and providing an alternate drinking source will help reduce incidents of infection and injury in your animals, as well as save you the loss of soil from erosion.
Project Details
What projects are eligible?
Priority will be given to projects that are within 100m from surface water
Solid manure storage with runoff containment
Roofed solid manure storage
Concrete or steel liquid manure storage tanks (with or without lids)
Earthen manure storage and runoff storage
Runoff containment from exercise yards
Pack Barns and compost barns may be considered if the facility is eliminating existing uncovered outdoor storage
LSRCA will consider innovative projects if it meets the objective of the category.
Project Details
To receive financial assistance on a manure storage under this program, applicants must complete an adequate Nutrient Management Strategy (NMS) which complies with the Nutrient Management Act, 2002 (Ontario Regulation 267/03). The Conservation Authority must receive the approved NMS before cost share payment is provided for a completed manure storage project. This approval does not replace or supercede approval required through the Building Permit process.
Projects must meet current Construction and Siting protocols and other requirements under the Nutrient Management Act, 2002 (Ontario Regulation 267/03).
All manure and runoff storage must have a minimum of 240 day storage capacity (or local township minimum, whichever is greater). Adequate storage capacity must be provided for both solid and liquid fractions of manure, as well as contaminated precipitation (where applicable).
For roofed solid storage, three walls must be concrete at least 4 ft (1.2 m) above grade. The roof must provide adequate clearance for tractor and loader operation. The floor of the storage must be sloped to the back to contain any liquids. The storage entrance must be raised to prevent the entry of surface water from outside and to contain liquids inside.
Applications for an earthen storage must be accompanied by a report conducted by a soils consultant to verify the suitability of the site and an NMS must be completed in advance of application (see above for concrete structures).
All manure storage facilities, including open liquid tanks must include safety features to prevent accidental access, and signage to warn of the dangers of access and/or toxic gases. Features to prevent flow of toxic gases into any connected livestock building must also be incorporated. Details regarding required safety features, siting and design may be found through local building departments, and the Canadian Farm Building Code.
What costs are covered?
Permits
Engineering fees
Materials and labour associated with the approved project
Pumping equipment for temporary storage sumps and permanent transfer piping to transfer manure into long term storage
Transfer pumping equipment
Walls around yards to direct contaminated precipitation into a runoff storage
Storage covers and roofs
Upgrading storage to increase the existing capacity to between 240 and 400 days
Disconnection or plugging of existing tile-drain outlets in the vicinity of the manure storage
What isn’t covered?
Taxes
Pumping equipment to empty long term storages
Manure spreading equipment
Multi-use facilities (also used for storage of feed, and/or machinery)
Facilities to accommodate farm expansion/capacity building
Barn gutters with less than 60-day capacity
Machinery or equipment owned and used by the applicant, family dependents or the applicant’s business
Labour of applicant, family dependents or the applicant’s business
If you have an outstanding violation with the LSRCA, you will not be eligible for funding
Work that proceeds prior to funding approval does not qualify for funding assistance
How to Apply
Complete the Landowner Information Form and the Project Profile Form to submit an application.
Be prepared to submit the following with your application:
Project site plan
Two cost quotations from qualified contractors
Copy of approved Nutrient Management Strategy/Plan
Only complete applications will be considered for funding assistance.
Please contact a Restoration Project Specialist to verify program eligibility and to answer any questions/concerns you may have about the program and/or the application process. This is a voluntary program and all calls are confidential.
What projects are eligible?
Eavestroughs or clean water diversion structures (i.e. berms and ditches) that direct water away from barnyards, exercise yards and/or manure storage areas
Any other permanent technique to keep rain and snow from becoming contaminated, or to reduce the volume of contaminated runoff (livestock yard roofing, combination concrete pad/earthen yard, concrete pads with concrete curb, surrounding the yard with a vegetated buffer, holding pond or treatment area)
Rainwater collection systems
LSRCA will consider innovative projects if they meet the objective of the category.
Project Details
Downspouts located in areas which livestock can access must be made of schedule 40 PVC (or stronger materials) and be well secured to prevent dislodging. Berms, tile outlets and ditches must be properly protected.
All clean water diversion projects must discharge clean water away from any source of contamination, and not pose other hazards such as soil erosion. Ongoing maintenance and associated costs of the project are the landowner’s responsibility.
What costs are covered?
Materials and labour associated with the approved project
What isn’t covered?
Taxes
Tile drainage of agricultural fields
Machinery or equipment owned and used by the applicant, family dependents or the applicant’s business
Labour of applicant, family dependents or the applicant’s business
If you have an outstanding violation with LSRCA, you will not be eligible for funding
Work that proceeds prior to funding approval does not qualify for funding assistance
How to Apply
Complete the Landowner Information Form and the Project Profile Form to submit an application.
Be prepared to submit the following with your application:
Project site plan
Two cost quotations from qualified contractors
Only complete applications will be considered for funding assistance.
Please contact a Restoration Project Specialist to verify program eligibility and to answer any questions/concerns you may have about the program and/or the application process. This is a voluntary program and all calls are confidential.
Objective
Clean drinking water is important to livestock health and performance. Fencing livestock away from watercourses and providing an alternate drinking source will help reduce incidents of infection and injury in your animals, reduce nutrient inputs to surface and ground water, and save you the loss of soil from erosion.
What Projects are eligible?
Fencing along waterbodies (including but not limited to watercourses, drains or wetlands)
Livestock crossings
Alternative watering devices
The Conservation Authority will consider innovative projects if they meet the objective of the category.
Project Details
Fencing Along Waterbodies
Temporary fencing will be considered eligible but will require a signed agreement requiring the applicant to install the fence prior to livestock being introduced to the pasture every year and to maintain the fence while livestock are present in the pasture.
Maximum eligible expenses for cost-sharing will be $40 per meter for installed fencing. Costs for any eligible gates will be considered over and above the “per foot” fencing cost.
Only fencing directly along a watercourse will be considered for funding. Line fences (along a property boundary) and fences where livestock are not currently pastured will not be considered.
Fencing must be installed at an approved setback from the waterbody.
Livestock Crossings
Crossings can be either mid-level, low flow crossings with culverts, bed-level crossings, or above-flow crossings.
For bed-level crossings, gates should be installed at each streambank to allow livestock to be restricted out of the crossing. Gates should be opened only for the purposes of moving livestock to the other side for pasture rotation purposes. Watering facilities must be available on both sides of the stream.
To be eligible for cost-sharing on a crossing, fencing along the waterbody must either be undertaken concurrently, or livestock must already be restricted from the watercourse.
Alternative Watering Devices
Eligible for funding only where livestock are restricted from the waterbody.
Nose pumps, spring boxes, wind and solar powered pumping units, other systems may be considered
What costs are covered?
Permits
Engineering fees
Materials and labour associated with the approved project
What isn’t covered?
Taxes
Primary hydro lines
Drilling new water wells
Cost of crossings solely for machinery use
Cost of fences not directly adjacent to waterbodies
Machinery or equipment owned and used by the applicant, family dependents or the applicant’s business
Labour of applicant, family dependents or the applicant’s business
If you have an outstanding violation with the Conservation Authority, you will not be eligible for funding
Work that proceeds prior to funding approval does not qualify for funding assistance
IMPORTANT: Projects in and along waterways and ditches may need approval or permits from municipalities, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, or the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority prior to implementation. In addition, any work done on municipal drains also requires prior approval from the municipality. The applicant is responsible for acquiring all necessary permits.
How to Apply
Complete the Landowner Information Form and the Project Profile Form to submit an application.
Be prepared to submit the following with your application:
Two cost quotations from qualified contractors
Project site plan
Conservation Authority permit (if required)
Only complete applications will be considered for funding assistance.
Please contact a Restoration Project Specialist to verify program eligibility and to answer any questions/concerns you may have about the program and/or the application process. This is a voluntary program and all calls are confidential.
If you require content in an alternate format, please contact us at 905-895-1281 or by email at accessibility@LSRCA.on.ca
How can you get started?
The process is simple. Identify a project that will improve your productivity and protect your land. Contact our restoration experts to book a free, confidential site visit to review your project and begin the application process.
Not sure what projects can support your business? Our Restoration Project Specialists can visit your property to help you identify opportunities.
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