Manitoba Association of Watersheds - Living Labs On-Farm Research & PWCP Producer BMP Funding with Lynda Nicol & Dan Cox 

Lynda Nicol is the Executive Director for the Manitoba Association of Watersheds (MAW).  She has worked in not-for-profit organizations for over 15 years specializing in strategic planning, operations and communications. Lynda has a Bachelor of Arts in political studies and is committed to ongoing personal and professional development to support her work. In her role as MAW’s Executive Director, Lynda oversees all aspects of the association including member services, program development, industry engagement and stakeholder relations.

Dan Cox is the Project Manager with Manitoba Association of Watersheds. He brings 14+ years of project management experience in the renewable energy sector to the MAW project team. Dan’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Science from the University of Winnipeg and an advanced diploma in GIS from Red River College. His role within the organization is to oversee all projects which MAW administers on behalf of the Watershed Districts in Manitoba.

In this episode, we are focusing on two of the provincial projects that Manitoba Association of Watersheds is currently working on; The Living Labs Eastern Prairies and Prairie Watersheds Climate Program (PWCP).  

We start today’s conversation with a brief introduction to the Manitoba Association of Watersheds, including recent changes to the watershed districts, some information about the differences between districts and a general overview of information that is important for producers to know about MAW.

Dan shares information about the Living Lab - Eastern Prairies project, including the main goals of this work, and the activities that take place there.  He outlines some of the main takeaways from the project so far, and gives a bit of a timeline as to when additional findings will be published for producers to review.  He emphasizes this work’s importance to producers, as trial and error could be reduced on private operations based on the outcomes of the work they are doing at the Living Labs.  Following along with the project outcomes could save producers the investments of time and money.  Dan also shares some information on upcoming Living Labs projects and how interested producers can get involved.

If producers want to learn more, you can contact your local watershed district or find information at the link below:

https://agriculture.canada.ca/en/agricultural-science-and-innovation/living-laboratories-initiative/living-lab-eastern-prairies 

The Manitoba Association of Watersheds is leading the delivery of the Agricultural Climate Solutions  On-Farm Climate Action Fund in Manitoba and Saskatchewan - known as the Prairie Watersheds Climate Program (PWCP).  Lynda shares some information on the primary goals of PWCP and what this program means for Manitoba producers.

There is a lot of information to share on the 3 Streams of funding available; rotational grazing, nitrogen management and cover crops; and we only very briefly touch on these in the episode.  For more information on what is eligible and not eligible for this funding, you can view the fact sheets on each stream, which are available at this link:  

https://manitobawatersheds.org/prairie-watershed-climate-program

Lynda stresses the importance of contacting your local watershed district and talking with them about eligible projects, as they will be able to assist you with your project application, determining what is eligible for funding and guiding you through the process. 

To visit the home page of Manitoba Association of Watersheds, please follow this link:

https://manitobawatersheds.org

To see a list of the watershed districts and to find out more information about your district, you can visit: https://manitobawatersheds.org/districts-1

For more information on Agriculture and Agri Foods Canada, which was mentioned in this episode, please visit: https://agriculture.canada.ca/en

The research programs and daily operations at MBFI would not be possible without the funding from the Province of Manitoba, Government of Canada, and Canadian Agricultural Partnership, as well as the partnership with Manitoba Agriculture, Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP), Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) and the Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association (MFGA). 

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Website: www.mbfi.ca 

Email address: [email protected] 

Mary-Jane’s Phone Number: 431-255-0011