Our next suggestion is enhanced funding for the environmental farm plan. Farmers are incredible stewards of the land, and the demands on them are increasing annually, it seems. Farmers have accepted the need to develop and implement environmental farm plans for their operations. Many of the required improvements are for the benefit of the environment as well as the general public good. We encourage the enhancement of the funding provided for these improvements, as well as expansion of the levels of funding and the projects eligible for funding.
For example, growers should be eligible for funding for the planting of hedgerows along regional and provincial highways to serve as salt barriers. These barriers work, and growers have benefited from them.
Another example of the environmental farm plan is that orchardists are extremely challenged by wildlife damage. Currently under the environmental farm plan, you can get an 80% funding to enhance wildlife, but to protect your crops from wildlife damage it's only at 50%. So we'd like to see that increased as well, enhancing that part of the program and making sure it continues.