Environment
Dairy farmers have always been regarded as stewards of our natural resources, because effective environmental practices contribute to the continued, long-term success of their farms. Careful management of soil, water, pastures, wetlands and woodlands on farms will help ensure that future generations will be able to farm successfully.
The Environment module of proAction will foster the continued expansion of sustainability initiatives while allowing farmers to continue to produce high-quality milk safely and sustainably.
Note: All Environment requirements are mandatory as of September 1, 2021.
Validation Requirements
The Environment module’s five requirements aim to mitigate risks and promote positive action. Questions will be evaluated through self-declaration or by independent validators.
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Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) and Plan d’accompagnement agroenvironnemental (PAA)
Do you have a valid provincial (individual) Environmental Farm Plan (EFP), Agri-environmental Support Plan (Plan d’Accompagnement Agroenvironnemental, PAA) or PAA-equivalent to identify and address environmental risks on your farm?
Environmental Questionnaire
Have you completed the questionnaire on soil health, greenhouse gases, biodiversity, silage seepage and plastic waste?
Milking Centre Wastewater
Is your milking centre wastewater managed with proper storage or a regulatory approved treatment system?
Manure Storage
Is your manure storage adequate to avoid contamination of surface and ground water and to avoid spreading manure on frozen, snow-covered or saturated ground?
Manure Management
Do you manage nutrients on your farm to make optimal use of manure and/or fertilizer on land?
Fact Sheets
| Why an Environment module? | August 2021 | PDF (1.1 MB) | Download |
| EFP and PAA | August 2021 | PDF (1.3 MB) | Download |
| Soil Health | August 2021 | PDF (2.3 MB) | Download |
| Greenhouse Gas Emissions | August 2021 | PDF (1.1 MB) | Download |
| Biodiversity | August 2021 | PDF (3.1 MB) | Download |
| Silage Seepage | August 2021 | PDF (0.8 MB) | Download |
| Manure Storage | August 2021 | PDF (0.7 MB) | Download |
| Manure Management | August 2021 | PDF (0.7 MB) | Download |
| Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Canadian Milk Production | November 2018 | PDF (0.4 MB) | Download |
| Crop Management Practices to Mitigate Greenhouse Gases | May 2020 | PDF (0.3 MB) | Download |
| Livestock Management Practices to Mitigate Greenhouse Gases | May 2020 | PDF (0.4 MB) | Download |
| Manure Management Practices to Mitigate Greenhouse Gases | May 2020 | PDF (0.3 MB) | Download |
| Preserving Water Quality | November 2018 | PDF (0.4 MB) | Download |
| Water Use on Canadian Dairy Farms | November 2018 | PDF (0.5 MB) | Download |
Provincial Environmental Farm Plans
Additional Resources
Video Series: Water Use Efficiency
| Water use efficiency: tie-stall | February 2015 | 1:37 minutes | View Website |
| Water use efficiency: pond fed free stall | February 2015 | 5:47 minutes | View Website |
| Water use efficiency: free stall flush robotic | February 2015 | 4:34 minutes | View Website |
| Water use efficiency: free stall | February 2015 | 4:20 minutes | View Website |
| Water use efficiency: rotary parlour | February 2015 | 2:55 minutes | View Website |