Grainswest - Fall 2024

Fall 2024 grainswest.com 35 “Since the Barton Report, we have heard ongoing rhetoric about unleashing Canada’s potential to become an agriculture superpower,” said Parker. “Talk is great, action is better. We need to stop talking about our potential and start living up to it.” In January, CAPI called for the report to be updated. The entire industry, it said, has recently faced greater market volatility, which requires a new approach to risk management. For the agriculture sector to live up to its potential does not require an overarching strategy, said Parker. “We all know what needs to be done. It simply requires moving forward, implementing concrete policies such as strengthened IP rights that will create a business and investment friendly environment in Canadian agriculture. Only then will we truly realize our potential and become an agriculture superpower.” EXTENSION AND ADOPTION Extension services enable farmers to learn, adapt, innovate and apply new technologies and practices that improve productivity. Yet, in 2020, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry extension services were slashed when 250 employees were laid off. “Every province has a different angle on ag extension,” said Mussell. “Alberta had the best farm management extension.” The industry continues to absorb the loss. In a paper published in November 2023, John Knapp expressed similar concerns. Published after his term as deputy minister for Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, the paper noted while private sector companies and NGOs have filled some extension needs, several areas are lacking. These include entomology, forage management practices, local marketing, new crops and startup food companies. “The exit of [the] Province as a significant role player in extension has left a vacuum in the system,” wrote Knapp. Much of the extension gap was intended to be filled by Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR), the Alberta government’s arm’s-length, non-profit funding body for agricultural research. Its intent is to present farmers with best management practices generated by research projects to encourage their adoption. Launched in March 2020 with a 10-year, $370 million commitment from provincial coffers, it has contributed to 377 projects. Alberta Grains likewise shares the extension load through its Plot2Farm field-scale farm trials. Now in its fifth year, the program advances on-farm, agronomic research intended to enhance crop quality and yield and makes these results available to farmers. Launched in 2020, as of this fall, it has conducted 34 projects. Through RDAR, Alberta Grains received $250,000 in Plot2Farm funding from the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership to be used between now and 2026. Lara de Moissac, Alberta Grains agronomy programs specialist, emphasized the practical nature of the Plot2Farm program. Farmers are encouraged to contact the commission with trial ideas based on their needs. For example, a southern Alberta farmer wished to conduct a winter wheat trial. de Moissac contacted researchers whose small-plot work potentially lined up with farmers’ proposals and would be well-served with field-scale application. “If there isn’t a protocol in place, one can be created,” said de Moissac. “The goal is to bring small-plot research that has statistical strength to the farm gate so farmers can assess it on their own soil, with their own logistics, with their own set of management practices to see whether or not they need to adopt a change,” said de Moissac. The 2024 trial projects involve fungicide timing, nitrogen rate, plant growth regulators, seeding rate. While the outcomes are practical and useful to farmers, the program tackles approximately just 10 projects per year. To move the needle on farm productivity, growth will require a multi-faceted approach, that includes investment in technology and innovation, science-based policy change and practical field-scale research. “It shouldn’t be solely up to farmers,” said de Moissac. “Increasing productivity will take provincial and federal support.” “It shouldn’t be solely up to farmers. Increasing productivity will take provincial and federal support.” —Lara deMoissac