Resilient Agricultural Landscapes Program (RALP)

Who can apply

1. Saskatchewan agricultural producers (individual, partnership or corporation) who can demonstrate a minimum of $50,000 in gross farm income in Saskatchewan in the year of application or the year prior to the application.
2. Individual applicants are at least 18 years of age.; or
3. First Nation Bands in the Province of Saskatchewan; or
4. Crown Land Pasture Associations in Saskatchewan are eligible for Land Use and Grazing Management BMPs as well as the Sulphate Water Treatment BMP.
5. Producers who own, lease or rent property where livestock and poultry are grown, bred, kept, raised, displayed, assembled or disposed of, require a Saskatchewan Premises Identification (PID) number.

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 February 29, 2028? 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 gross farm income threshold.
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?

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.

Persons related to an eligible applicant will be subject to the program’s maximum funding cap for that eligible applicant. Related applicants include:

1. 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.
2. “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.
3. 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.

Pre-approval is required for the majority of BMPs. Applicants are responsible for complying with any regulatory requirements, including obtaining any permits or approvals as required by law. If all required approvals are not obtained, the project will be ineligible for funding. The following are areas of special consideration, but each BMP will outline specific requirements.

Approvals:

1. Written authorization from the landowner is required if the project involves construction and is located on land not owned by the applicant. When any improvement project (i.e., dugouts, fences, corrals, etc.) is completed on provincial Crown land, authorization from a Ministry of Agriculture land management specialist is required.
2. An Aquatic Habitat Protection Permit (AHPP) from the Water Security Agency is required prior to commencement of any work occurring in the bed, bank or boundary of a water body or watercourse. Work conducted on water bodies or watercourses that do not flow into other surface waters and are wholly within the boundaries of land owned by the person carrying out the activity are exempt from the permit.

As a condition to access program funding, applicants are required to review the Agri-Environmental Risk Assessment before beginning their project.

Projects must have started on or after April 1, 2023, and be completed with claim submitted within 18 months of project approval, or by February 1, 2028, whichever is earlier.