How existing programs can make that easy
Our story began in 2010 when we returned home to Cait’s family farm in Smiths Falls, Ontario. Looking for a way to support a rural lifestyle and inspired by other young people returning to agriculture, we started Milkhouse Farm and Dairy. We began with 11 Sheep, 2 llamas, 1 cat and a stubborn work ethic. Today our farm has grown. We’ve moved around the corner and now milk 64 sheep a year and welcome 160 lambs to our pastures every spring. Our farm is home to us, our flock, our extended family and a few cats.
We are a farmstead creamery. We raise and milk dairy sheep and hand-craft raw, sheep’s milk cheese right here on the farm. Milk from sheep is higher in protein and fat than cow or goat milk and many people who struggle with digesting dairy are able to consume sheep’s milk.
Our cheese is produced in small batches and is aged for a minimum of three months. We also sell grass-fed lamb products and a variety of articles made from wool. Our growing flock of sheep is rotated through fresh pastures regularly.
We have always been concerned about sustainable issues on the farm. We keep the sheep out of the creek that runs through part of the pasture and maintain forest cover around the pasture fields to provide shade for the sheep during midsummer heat.
Several areas of our pasture were too low-lying and wet to be productive. We had thought of returning these areas back to what they originally were – wetlands, but the lack of a proper plan and financing kept that idea on the back burner. This all changed when we learned that ALUS was being launched in Lanark County in January 2022.
It turns out that ALUS is a national non-profit organization that works with local farmers to help them carry out environmental projects such as buffer strips along streams, wetlands, pollinator habitat, windbreaks and other nature-based improvements on their farms. In our county, the ALUS program is delivered by the Rideau Valley and Mississippi Valley Conservation Authorities.
ALUS offered us the opportunity to not only protect and expand the wetlands, but also create habitat for more wildlife, making for a more interesting and diverse farm.
The plan was to add two new wetlands – a total of two acres – in areas where it was already too wet to mow or graze the sheep. Since we were some of the first local farmers to sign up for an ALUS project in 2023, we needed technical help from the get-go. ALUS staff at the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA) provided overall project coordination, explaining what needed to be done and how that would happen.
A staff person at Ducks Unlimited Canada designed the new ponds to suit the property’s unique soil and landscape. Heavy equipment was brought in to deepen and shape the wetland areas. This happened in September and October 2022. The enlarged wetland areas gave stormwater a place to go while creating critical habitat for many species and filtering excess nutrients out of the local water system.
The physical preparation of the wetlands was only the beginning. They had to be fenced to keep the sheep out. Most of the cost for this was covered by a Rural Clean Water grant. Planting the appropriate native species in the wetland areas came next. The cost of this was covered through a Shoreline Naturalization Program and the Rural Clean Water grant.
Then came the need to look at how we manage manure at the barn. What we didn’t want to do was contaminate the new wetlands with manure run-off after a major rainstorm. We had to develop a Nutrient Management Plan, which identified the need to change how we store our manure. Funding was available to cover half the cost of building a new manure storage area.
We had known for some time that our old well needed replacing, but the cost of a new one meant that the decision kept being delayed. When we discovered that the Rural Clean Water Program would cover half the cost, we decided to go for it, and the same program covered nearly all the cost of properly shutting down the old one.
And to top it all off, we discovered that we would be receiving an annual payment from ALUS for maintaining the wetlands. Here is a summary of what our initial interest is simply bringing wetlands back to life on the farm led to:
- Wetland Creation: Grants for construction costs covered by ALUS Lanark, plus annual compensation payments for maintaining the wetlands.
- Fencing: 90% covered by RVCA’s Rural Clean Water Grant Program and ALUS Lanark.
- Planting wetland vegetation: Grants provided by RVCA’s Shoreline Naturalization Program and Rural Clean Water Program.
- Nutrient Management: 50% of the cost (up to $15,000) of an improved manure storage facility covered by RVCA’s Rural Clean Water Grant Program.
- Well replacement: 50% covered by RVCA’s Rural Clean Water Grant Program.
- Well decommissioning: 90% covered by RVCA’s Rural Clean Water Grant Program.
This whole process has been great for us. We have geese and ducks landing in the new wetlands this Spring and see evidence of more wildlife around the farm. We are happy to have contributed to increased biodiversity and water management – and even a positive support for climate change.
It was a lot to take on, and it wouldn’t have happened without financial and technical support from the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA) and ALUS Lanark. We encourage other farmers to check the availability of similar programs in your municipality. You might be surprised at the support available for projects on your farm. It’s absolutely worthwhile sending the email or making the phone call.
Check out this short (2.5 minute) YouTube video on our experience: Milk House Farm & Dairy: Embracing stewardship with help from RVCA and ALUS Lanark (youtube.com)
Kyle and Cait White
Milkhouse Dairy
Smith Falls, ON
ALUS is a national non-profit organization that works with local farmers to help them undertake environmental stewardship projects on their farms. ALUS communities are overseen by local partnership advisory committees (PACs) and administered by local organizations. In the case of ALUS Lanark, the Rideau River Conservation Authority and Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority administer programs on the ground, alongside their other longstanding stewardship programs.