It's becoming more prominent. I mentioned the alternative land use services program.
The other thing, though, that has been in place for a number of years is the environmental farm planning process. Each province has different incentives they can provide.
I can describe what we did on our farm. We have a cow-calf livestock farm. We used some of that money to fence off all cattle access to any open water sources. We had a fairly wide flood plain that we fenced them out of. We purchased solar-powered water pumping systems. We actually fenced the property and moved to rotational grazing.
To give you an idea of the change in the carbon footprint, with the same base of land that we started with when we moved from dairy to cow-calf, we're carrying twice as many cattle and producing twice as much beef. At the same time, because we're using rotational grazing, we've reduced the amounts of fertilizer that we're putting on.
It applies to cropland, as well. There are some areas that are not suitable for farming. Looking at conservation-type programs and other ways to encourage some of those wetlands and more fragile areas to be set aside actually does work.
Another interesting thing we found on our farm was that once we had the cattle fenced away from the water sources and the rotational grazing system set up, the rates of gain on our calves went right through the roof, and the risk of disease loss of nursing calves from mothers that had their udders covered in mud just disappeared. Sometimes, a small incentive like that is enough to make a dramatic change.
I know we've been talking a lot about what canola is doing, but you can look at any number of crops or livestock operations. One of the key focuses has been productivity increases and utilizing the land for its best purpose.
Going back to your comment about conservation, there are certain areas of land that likely shouldn't be farmed. Trying to find a way to incent setting them aside is a worthwhile endeavour.