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The Food Issue
2016
Grains
West
18
BY TREVOR BACQUE
TABLE
TALK
FARMERS IN ALBERTA USE A WIDE
range of best management practices
(BMPs) to complete each growing season
successfully. Starting with preparations
prior to seeding and working through
harvest time, farmers have many ways to
get from A to B as efficiently as possible.
In order to determine the readiness of
farmers to embrace sustainable sourcing
schemes and find out where awareness
needs to be created, provincial farm
groups—including Alberta Barley and the
Alberta Wheat Commission—partnered
with market research firm Ipsos-Reid and
the Government of Alberta to conduct a
farmer sustainability survey. The Alberta
Canola Producers Commission and the Al-
berta Pulse Growers Commission are also
involved as program sponsors. About 400
Alberta farmers participated, discussing
BMPs on the farm. The results will give
industry members a fresh perspective on
the environmentally sustainable farming
practices currently being used in the field.
In a global marketplace, food security,
traceability, sustainable sourcing and
other “metrics” have become increasingly
important to consumers. The readiness
to respond to such changes begins at the
farm level.
“Sustainable agriculture is becoming
increasingly important in building mar-
ket-access opportunities and ensuring the
long-term viability of our industry,” said
Jolene Noble, co-ordinator of the Farm
Sustainability Extension Working Group,
created to assess and address areas of need
for on-farm sustainability extension and
education. Noble, who participated in Mc-
Donald’s Verified Sustainable Beef Pilot
Project, will work alongside Ipsos-Reid to
determine where farmers see themselves
in relation to international sustainability
standards and BMPs. One of the end goals
is to help align farmers with global sus-
tainability standards and BMPs through
developing programs that will address
gaps in their day-to-day operations.
Primary areas of assessment include soil
management (such as fertilizer use and
organic matter preservation), agrochemi-
cal handling and storage, as well as water
management.
This survey follows on the heels of a
smaller sampling done in 2015, in which
on-farm audits were conducted to give 33
Alberta farmers an idea of how their farms
rated against internationally recognized
sustainability standards.
With large retailers such as Wal-Mart,
Unilever and General Mills focused on
sustainability, traceability and safe pro-
duction, surveys like this will continue to
give farmers the ability to respond to the
sustainable sourcing needs of internation-
al markets and buyers.
When results are finalized, the survey
information will help serve as a sustain-
ability blueprint as market demands
continue to evolve. This could provide
Canadian farmers with a leg up on global
competition by having sustainability
metrics already in place on farms. Global
food security and environmental review
programs such as Hazard Analysis Critical
Control Point or the Environmental Farm
Plan are but two ways farmers can ensure
they balance farm profitability and sus-
tainability.
Charlie Arnot is CEO of The Center for
Food Integrity in Kansas City, MI, and
said crop farmers have a real opportunity
to define what sustainability really means
in the context of agriculture.
“We have to redefine what we think is
success,” said Arnot. “Frequently, we want
to solve problems in one year—change
nutrient management, seeds or chemicals.
We have to understand that earning and
maintaining that social licence is going to
require time and financial resources.”
People outside of agriculture are much
more interested in food than ever before,
and it’s this segment of the market that
needs to be engaged.
Many major companies are developing
proof of sustainable sourcing for the pub-
lic, but in the end, it all comes back to the
people who grow the crop: farmers.
“Since farmers are at the beginning of
the supply chain, seeing the opportunity
and the need to be engaged, those are two
critical components to protect and main-
tain that social licence,” said Arnot.
A Canadian Centre for Food Integrity re-
cently opened in Guelph, ON. Its aim is to
lead public discussion about generating an
understanding of the food system and how
to build consumer trust and confidence.
HIGHSTANDARDS
SURVEY TOHELP BENCHMARK
ALBERTA’SON-FARMPRACTICES
AWC director Kevin Bender (right) and Control Union auditor Doug Higgins go through one of the stages of a
sustainability audit as part of the Alberta Crop Sustainability Certification Pilot Project.
Photo: RobMcMorris