Livestock Facility Emissions Program

To qualify for funding, both the facility and the applicant must meet the following criteria:

Facility Requirements

To be eligible, the facility must:

• Be a permitted intensive hog or sheep facility located in Saskatchewan
• Confine 300 or more animal units (AUs) continuously indoors
• Be compliant with The Agricultural Operations Act
• Be a business-scale facility (e.g., a commercial hog or sheep barn) that has been in operation for at least two years

Applicant Requirements

Eligible applicants include:

• Primary agricultural producers (individual, partnership, co-operative or corporation) who can demonstrate a minimum of $50,000 of annual 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.
• First Nation Bands in the Province of Saskatchewan

Notes:

• An AU is a standardized measure used to compare livestock types. The amount of nitrogen produced by one animal unit is approximately the same across species. For example, one cow or six feeder pigs would represent one animal unit and would produce about the same amount of nitrogen.
• Projects involving new buildings or facility expansions intended to increase AU capacity are not eligible for funding.
• Supply-managed intensive livestock operations (i.e., dairy, poultry) are ineligible for funding.
• If you operate a regulated sheep facility that confines 300 or more AUs in continuous indoor housing, please contact the Agriculture Knowledge Centre at 1-866-457-2377 for more information on how to apply.
• For details on the regulation of intensive livestock operations, contact the Agriculture Knowledge Centre at 1‑866‑457‑2377.

Eligibility Criteria/Other Parameters

• The project (and any expenses) must have commenced after April 1, 2023.
• Producers who own, lease or rent property where livestock are grown, bred, kept, raised, displayed, assembled or disposed of require a Saskatchewan Premises Identification (PID) number.
• 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.
  • “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
    • any other matter that the ministry believes is relevant to the legal, financial or operational independence of the operation.

For more information about related entities, please send an email to agprograms@gov.sk.ca or contact the Agriculture Knowledge Centre at 1-866-457-2377.

Agri-Environmental Risk Assessment

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

Each eligible applicant may receive up to $500,000 in total funding over the five-year term of the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (April 1, 2023 to March 31, 2028).

Applicants with more than one facility may apply for multiple projects at different facilities. Funding is calculated based on the number of AUs at each facility. For each facility, the program provides a maximum rebate of $36 per AU. This reflects a 60 per cent cost-share on eligible costs of $60 per AU.

Example:

If the barn houses 800 AUs, the eligible costs would be:

800 AUs × $60/AU = $48,000

The program would rebate 60 per cent of that amount:

800 AUs × $36/AU = $28,800

The maximum rebate for a facility with 800 AUs is $28,800.

Note: If a barn is expanded or replaced, the maximum rebate available is $36 per animal unit, based on the number of animal units previously housed at that site.

Animal Unit Verification

The Ministry of Agriculture will verify the number of AUs submitted in the pre-approval application using records from the Agricultural Operations Unit, which regulates intensive livestock operations in Saskatchewan.

If there is a difference between the AU count reported in your application and the number recorded on your facility’s permit, the program will use the lower of the two.

If you would like to speak to the Agricultural Operations Unit regarding your intensive livestock operation permit, please contact the Agriculture Knowledge Centre at 1-866-457-237.

Livestock facility improvement projects must be fully installed, operational and complete before funding will be issued. No interim payments will be made. Program payments are subject to a minimum rebate of $250.

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

Applications are pre-approved and will be assessed based on the project description. To effectively measure emissions reductions from eligible practices, specific data may need to be collected including but not limited to:

• Number of animals;
• Baseline energy source and estimated consumption (quantity for one year without proposed technology);
• Baseline/estimated quantity of liquid manure (litres/gallons);
• Baseline liquid manure treatment practice;
• Baseline liquid manure storage practice; and
• Intervention description:
  • Description of equipment to be installed or upgraded;
  • New energy type and estimated intervention energy consumption (quantity for one year following project implementation);
  • Volume (L) of acid used;
  • Type of cover installed;
  • Estimate of volume of dry digestate to be produced; and
  • Acres of liquid manure injected and rate (lbsN/ac).

Energy Efficiency

Projects must reduce electricity consumption (kWh) or natural gas consumption (m³).

Eligible expenses include:

• New materials and installation costs for the building envelope, including:
  • Adding insulation to improve heat and cold retention, such as:
  • Wall insulation
  • Ceiling insulation
• Ventilation upgrades, such as:
  • Switching from side- to chimney-mounted ventilation
  • Adding shutters and winter covers
  • Installing winch-operated air inlet systems
• Heating upgrades, such as:
  • Upgrading from low efficiency boilers to higher efficiency models
  • Heat pads to replace heat lamps in farrowing or nursery barns.
  • Retrofitting to radiant tube heaters
• Lighting upgrades, including:
  • Replacing incandescent or fluorescent bulbs with LED lighting
• Additional expenses to support energy efficiency improvements, such as:
  • Conducting efficiency analyses, energy audits, or equivalent emissions-reduction assessments
  • Converting or adding on-farm energy sources and storage (e.g., wind, geothermal, solar) to replace/increase the efficiency of fossil fuel energy sources
  • Upgrading doors and windows to higher-efficiency models (e.g., increased R-value)
  • Installing or retrofitting automated environmental control systems, including:
    • Transitioning from manual to automated controls for lighting, ventilation, and heating
    • Upgrading existing systems with smart controllers, enhanced sensing capabilities, or remote monitoring capabilities
• Purchase, modification, and improvement of water use equipment to increase energy efficiency, such as:
  • Variable flow pumps
• Other:
  • Third-party freight, labour, and installation costs directly associated with eligible equipment or upgrades

Manure Management

To be eligible, projects must reduce greenhouse gas emissions from either manure storage or field application practices.

Manure Storage

Eligible technologies include:

• Anaerobic digestion of liquid manure with off-farm organics, including conversion of biogas into electricity, heat, or renewable natural gas.
• Manure acidification.
• Methane capture systems, including collectors, flaring equipment, catalytic oxidation, and biofilters.
• Impermeable storage covers with methane or biogas capture.
• Solid-liquid separation systems for manure or digestate

Field Application Practices

Projects must improve manure application processes through one or more of the following:

• Adoption of injection practices.
• Enhancing nutrient efficiency to reduce application rates per acre.
• Transitioning from custom application services to in-house manure application using improved methods.

Liquid Manure Application Equipment

Eligible expenses may include investment in new specialized equipment or retrofitting existing systems. Technologies must support:

• Liquid manure injection:
  • Flow meters
  • Injector openers
  • Aeration/infiltration tools
• Liquid manure transfer and distribution:
  • Dragline hoses and reels
  • Fittings and couplings
  • Spreader tank agitators
• Sub-canopy application:
  • Drop hoses
  • Dribble bars
• Precision monitoring and application tools:
  • Real-time nutrient sensing systems for precision manure application

Ineligible activities or expenses include:

• Projects (and any expenditures) commencing prior to April 1, 2023
• Invoices not issued in the applicant's name
• Activities or expenses related to efficiency improvements for new facilities (greenfield/new construction) or expansion of existing facilities
• Purchase of land/property or payment of easements
• Taxes, financing fees, interest charges or legal fees
• Applicant/employee/in-kind labour and administration costs
• Fees paid to third parties for application support
• Basic repair and maintenance or ongoing expenses
• Extended warranty or insurance costs
• Used, leased or fabricated materials and infrastructure, including equipment purchased at auction - to be eligible, new items and infrastructure must be purchased from a recognized dealer. For the purposes of the program, a recognized dealer is typically defined as a business where manufacturing is a key service or the business is an authorized dealer for certain item(s)
• In‐kind freight/mileage
• In-kind equipment use
• In‐kind materials such as rocks, sand, gravel or clay
• In-kind payment (e.g., trading) for third-party services/supplies
• Materials from inventory
• Application of thermal coatings to metal roofs
• Costs related to equipment used for remote access (e.g., iPads, TVs, computers, and laptops), as well as subscription and Wi-Fi service plans for remote access
• Equipment upgrades undertaken solely to reduce labour hours, without resulting in improvements in energy efficiency or manure management
• Hose extensions, hose upgrades, or pump upgrades to existing liquid manure application equipment
• Farm equipment used to support manure application (e.g., tractors)
• Retrofitting automated controllers with similar models that do not enhance functionality or improve energy efficiency
• Any submissions for rebate utilizing a third-party contractor must be from a contractor who is a third-party arm's length, or the submission will be considered in-kind labour and original invoices for all materials will be required
• Costs claimed for expenses/activities which may receive funding under other Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership programs, or any other government grant, rebate or assistance program
• Upgrades to temporary sheep housing facilities (lambing barns, etc.)
• Upgrades to or purchase of specialized feeding equipment to implement more efficient feeding regimes
• Upgrades to or purchase of specialized watering equipment to implement more efficient watering regimes

Review the Livestock Facility Emissions Program details including eligibility. Applicants are encouraged to apply early and submit their claims as soon as their projects are completed.

Claim forms will be sent to eligible applicants when pre-approval for the project has been obtained. When the project is fully constructed and operational for agricultural use, claims for funding may be submitted. All invoices must be paid in full before applying for the rebate. Please submit copies of invoices as originals will not be returned. Please note that a post-implementation site inspection may be conducted by the Ministry to confirm that projects are implemented in accordance with the project approval and/or claim.

Applications for pre-approval must be submitted by December 31, 2027, for projects to be completed by March 31, 2028.

Projects must be complete and claims for funding must be submitted by the earlier of 18 months from written project approval or before March 31, 2028.

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

Download the Pre-Approval Application Form

Note: It is recommended that this application form be saved to your computer before entering your information.

Completed application packages can be submitted by email to agprograms@gov.sk.ca or mailed to:
Livestock Facility Emissions Program
Ministry of Agriculture, Programs Branch
329 – 3085 Albert Street
Regina, SK  S4S 0B1