EFP: Environmental Farm Plan

What is EFP?

Create your Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) using Environmental Best Management Practice (EBMP)

An Environmental Farm Plan like EBMP (Environmental Best Management Practices) challenges you as farmers, land managers, and landholders to think and write down - HOW YOU can build more robust sustainable businesses by using best management practices - to care for the environment as well as your business.

Benefits: The online computer program EBMP includes the latest information on fire and greenhouse gases, as well as property management planning (whole farm planning), water, soils, vegetation, chemicals etc. comprising 14 chapters or topics in total. It includes a Self Assessment section involving these 14 chapters where you rate or self assess your current farming practices and set your goals for future management practices. You rank these goals as High, Medium or Low Priority and identify an action that will help you achieve each goal. The EBMP computer program creates reports based on your self assessment which list action or business plans.

Promote your produce to consumers and markets using the plans created by the EBMP computer program. These plans show that you are managing your land to best practice standards - which can be benchmarked and documented.

EBMP provides you with an introduction to Environmental Management Systems (EMS) which leads to product certification and quality assurance standards. The data collected from EBMP Business plans, could lead to funding opportunities with Landcare projects or even marketing opportunities where consumers and markets require evidence of your environmental management.

EBMP is part of The Victorian Department of Primary Industries Farmplan21 Program

EBMP is online only in Victoria, Australia - enquiries outside Victoria will be responded to and we encourage you to contact your nearest Dept. Primary industries or Catchment Management Authority about going online.

Welcome to Environmental Farm Planning

Create your Environmental Farm Plan using the on-line computer program called Environmental Best Management Practices Program:

EBMP or Environmental Best Management Practices is an approved Environmental Farm Planning Program which encourages all landholders to adopt Best Management Practices to achieve more sustainable farms. An Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) is a general name for any farm plan that focuses on the management of farm assets such as soil, water and vegetation.

Over 3,000 farmers in Victoria have been involved with EBMP since 2002 - run by Dept Primary Industries, Catchment Management Authorities , Vctorian Farmers Federation and Landcare.

EBMP is now online with workbooks and CD also available. EBMP includes the latest Fire and Greenhouse Gases chapters as well as traditional Whole Farm Planning, comprising 14 chapters in total.

EBMP is an introduction to Industry Standards or EMS Certification (Environmental Management Systems) as it incorporates the: plan - do - check - review cycle - but EMS Certification and Standards are outside the scope of this EBMP website.

EBMP allows farmers to assess their own management (self assessments) and develop their own business plans(Action Plans) to achieve a best practice standard which suits them.

Farmers are encouraged to seek information about developing Industry Standards and market opportunities as part of their own businesses.

Useful links

Department of Primary Industries - Victorian Resources Online (VRO)
http://new.dpi.vic.gov.au/vro

Victorian Water Resources Data Warehouse 
www.vicwaterdata.net/vicwaterdata/home.aspx

Department of Primary Industries NSW
www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/field/pastures-and-rangelands/management 
www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/resources/soils

Department of Sustainability - Interactive maps
http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/land-management/native-vegetation-local-government