By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

riparian fencing and livestock watering projects

Red Deer County hoping more apply for ALUS funding

Feb 7, 2022 | 10:06 AM

RED DEER, Alta. — Red Deer County is hoping more farmers and ranchers will take advantage of the Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) program.

ALUS pays farmers and ranchers to produce, enhance, and maintain ecosystem services on their lands, the County explains.

There are at least 120 participants in the County already, with growing interest. In fact, there was so much interest in 2021, that funding was insufficient to cover every application. ALUS has set March 31, 2022 as the deadline this year’s requests.

A Red Deer County cattle grazer, Craig Pullan, who’s also owner of Silver Fern Fencing, recently utilized ALUS funding.

“I’ve referred a few people to the ALUS program. Having completed ALUS projects myself, I can back it up and say yes, it is a good program,” said the New Zealand native whose wife has had their land in the family for 90 years. “The cost-sharing involved with ALUS gave me the incentive to do the projects I have wanted to do. The long-term gains of this program are huge.”

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ALUS helped Pullan complete Riparian Fencing and Livestock Watering projects on his land, which helps control how livestock use the riparian forest area by managing where they graze and obtain water, including alternative source from a stream, river, wetland or lake.

Between 2013 and 2021, the County said, more than 139 km worth of fencing was installed in Red Deer County.

Other project types that may be covered under ALUS funding include:

• Convert marginal cropland to permanent cover;
• Alternative livestock shelter;
• Waterbody crossings;
• Tree and shrub planting in riparian areas.

For more information or to talk about an ALUS project for your property, call ALUS Red Deer County Coordinator Ken Lewis at 403.505.9038 .

For more agriculture news from around Western Canada, visit farmnewsnow.com.