Grainswest Tech 2021

Tech 2021 grainswest.com 39 Candace Laing, Nutrien’s vice-president of sustainability and stakeholder relations, said the company plans to embark on a greenhouse gas offset protocol development process with the engagement of the provincial and federal governments. Nutrien also partners with Maple Leaf Foods in the development of high-quality verified insets. This is a process in which supply chain partners, including farmers, work together to quantify and reduce emissions. Laing said Nutrien’s aim is to ensure farmers have the tools and readiness to capitalize on emerging revenue from the carbon market. “Part of those carbon assets could be insetting where we collaborate with a food company and reduce our own emissions and incent growers for that,” she said. “Or we might purchase some of those credits directly as well and address some of the residual emissions in our own footprint.” THE CARBONMARKET Farmers Edge CEO and founder Wade Barnes believes farmers should be rewarded for the important role they play in climate change mitigation. The digital ag company now offers its data- driven Smart Carbon program. Using a mixture of hardware and software solutions, it enables farmers to track, measure and benchmark improvements in yield and soil health as well as the efficiency of field practices. The company is also developing a system in which food companies and elevators can purchase low-carbon grain, a growth market, according to Barnes. He believes participation in the carbon market will allow the farmer to further invest in connectivity to move data from the tractor, combine and sprayer into the cloud. “Carbon is going to pay the bill for it,” he said. “But the big opportunity is going to be what he can do with that: sustainability, traceability premiums for low-carbon grain.” Barnes also believes having access to on-farm data will help develop personalized, independent insurance products of particular interest to farmers who have made yield gains unrecognized under traditional insurance schemes. PRICE TAKERS TO PRICE SETTERS There will be opportunities for farmers to participate in the low-carbon economy, but they must be part of industry conversations about quantification and verification. Farmer Beck has spent much time contemplating this. “There will be the capitalists that capitalize on it, which is fine,” he said. “But how do we as producers capitalize on this market?” If farmers want to have a seat at the table when prices are negotiated, they need data to support their demands, he said. “But we’re already busy just trying to keep stuff going,” he said. “So, how are we going to get that information?” It’s a good question, and one that farmers might want to consider. Having the ability to verify and quantify both emissions and sequestration efforts would give farmers a bigger bargaining chip and perhaps empower them, at last, to act as price setters. Responsible for 10 per cent of Canadian CO2 emissions, farming may potentially account for 26 per cent of the country’s overall 2030 reduction goal.