Irrigation Development Program

Who can apply

1. Primary agricultural producers (individual, partnership, co-operative or corporation) who can demonstrate a minimum $50,000 of gross farm income in Saskatchewan in the year of application or the year prior to the application. Individual applicants must be at least 18 years of age;
2. First Nation Bands in the Province of Saskatchewan; or
3. Irrigation districts (within the meaning of The Irrigation Act, 2019) in Saskatchewan that are approved by the ministry.

Our programs allow flexibility for new entrants to become eligible if they are confident they will be able to provide proof of meeting the gross farm income threshold within the five-year term of Sustainable CAP. Complete the below New Entrant Self-Assessment for details:

New Entrant Self-Assessment:

1. Did you earn less than $50,000 in gross farm income in the year of or the year prior to the application?
2. Have you recently (roughly within the last five years) made a significant purchase of land, livestock, or other investment for the purpose of farming, which will allow you to generate $50,000 in gross farm income by March of 2028?
3. Have you actively operated a farm or ranch and earned farm income for five years or less over the previous five years, either as a sole operator or with other related entities who have operated a farm or ranch for five years or less?

Please note that Ministry of Agriculture program payments received by new entrants will not be accepted as gross farm income for the purposes of meeting the threshold.

If you answered yes to all of these questions, please contact the Agriculture Knowledge Centre at 1‑866‑457‑2377 and ask to be connected with an agriculture programs specialist to discuss whether or not you are eligible as a new entrant.

1. Expenses incurred after October 1, 2022, will be eligible
2. Producers who own, lease or rent property where livestock and poultry are grown, bred, kept, raised, displayed, assembled or disposed of, require a
3. Saskatchewan Premises Identification (PID) number
4. Persons related to an eligible applicant will be subject to the program’s maximum funding cap for that eligible applicant. Related applicants include:

• The maximum amount that may be paid to an eligible applicant, including persons related to an eligible applicant, may not exceed the maximum funding cap per applicant/related entity over the life of the program
• Projects on lands under rental agreements or leases are subject to evaluation and may not be eligible for funding if the landowner has previously accessed funding through the program
• “Related applicants” include but are not limited to spouses, business partners, relatives living in the same residence, individuals/entities which have controlling interests in more than one operation and operations that are not legally, financially or operationally sufficiently independent of other entities
• In determining whether a person/entity is a related applicant, the ministry may consider the following factors:
• whether the person/entity is engaged in a common enterprise with the applicant as a corporate affiliate or subsidiary, partner, member of a joint venture, trustee of a trust or estate in which the eligible applicant has a substantial beneficial interest or any other relationship which evidences an intention to share the profits or risk of loss of the operation with the eligible applicant;
• whether the person/entity makes operational decisions in respect of the operation or makes those decisions jointly or in common with the eligible applicant;
• whether the person is responsible to ensure that day-to-day operations are completed respecting the operation;
• whether the person/entity and the applicant have access to common assets such as land, machinery, processing equipment, crop storage or animal handling facilities used in the operation;
• whether the person/entity files separate income and expense statements for income tax purposes;
• whether the person/entity maintains separate farm or business accounting records;
• whether the person maintains a separate bank, credit union or trust company account;
• whether the person has a separate Goods and Services Tax number;
• whether the person/entity has any other financial interest in the operation; and
• any other matter that the ministry believes is relevant to the legal, financial or operational independence of the operation.

Requirements

By participating in this program, applicants understand they must meet all eligibility requirements which includes compliance with The Irrigation Act, 2019.

1. Irrigation districts must be in good standing and have met the criteria as laid out in Part 2 of the Act.
2. All current irrigators are required to pay a per acre levy to the Irrigation Crop Diversification Corporation (operating as Irrigation Saskatchewan) to support irrigation research and development in the province as per Part 5 of The Irrigation Act, 2019.

Projects must meet the following requirements and applicants must obtain the following applicable pre-approval inspections and/or documents:

1. Irrigation development locations must obtain an Irrigation Certificate from the Ministry of Agriculture’s Crops and Irrigation Branch for the project location.
2. Eligible projects must plan to increase irrigation capacity by a minimum of 10 acres of land for agricultural purposes.
3. Individual applicants with projects within irrigation districts must be approved by the respective irrigation district board.
4. The proposed water source for the project must have an electrical conductivity of less than 1,500 uS/cm and a sodium absorption ratio of less than five.
5. Irrigation development locations granted a Term Irrigation Certificate are not eligible for funding due to concerns about the sustainability of these projects.

Project Eligibility

The following requirements (in the applicant's name) must be met at the time of claim submission before funding will be issued:

1. Approval to Construct permit from the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency (WSA)
2. Water Rights file number with WSA:

• Projects must receive a water allocation of intensive or non-intensive median annual availability to be eligible. Projects that receive a water allocation non-intensive subject to availability are not eligible.

3. An 'as-constructed' drawing from Crops and Irrigation Branch or an Approval to Operate from the WSA
4. Other requirements such as environmental assessments, when required