Ducks Unlimited, PepsiCo and FCC team up to support sustainable agriculture

Wetland conservation charity Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) is partnered with PepsiCo and Farm Credit Canada (FCC) to support farmers that engage in sustainable practices.

PepsiCo is offering financial support to producers based in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba who commit to planting perennial forage on unproductive cropland to improve biodiversity.

Producers must be participants of FCC’s Sustainability Incentive Program and grow oats or canola within their crop rotation. 

Support will equal 50% of the total payment producers receive on behalf of FCC’s program, up to $1,000 maximum per application.

Additionally, FCC participants who also partake in DUC's Marginal Areas Program will be eligible to receive an incentive payment based on a percentage of their total borrowings, up to a maximum payment of $2,000 or $50/acre of enrolled acres.

The program offers a solution for Canadian farmland that lacks productivity due to poor drainage, soil conditions, periodic flooding, inaccessibility, or salinity. 

"The uptake from our producer partners who have already taken advantage of our partnership with FCC has been incredible," said Paul Thoroughgood, national manager of sustainability at DUC, in a release. "Now with PepsiCo at the table, we can support even more farmers across the Prairies, recognizing them for the positive impacts they have on the landscape by providing even more incentives."