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BY SARAH HOFFMANN
Thebusinessof farmingmade fun
FOOD AND FARMING GO HAND
in hand, but in the urbanized 21st century
it can be difficult for kids—and even
grown-ups—to make the connection.
Journey 2050, a farm simulator video
game developed by a group of agriculture
organizations, helps students in junior and
senior high understand the intricacies of
producing enough food to sustain a world
population that experts predict will swell
to nine billion people by 2050.
The computer game was designed to ap-
peal to technology-motivated students in
Grades 7 to 12, as well as teachers looking
for direct links to science and social stud-
ies curriculums. Journey 2050 lets players
make choices about crop types, fertilizer
application methods, water usage, and
business and social investments, as they
aspire to develop the most sustainable
farm possible.
Sustainability, as Journey 2050 demon-
strates, is not a single measurement, but
rather the result of a multitude of factors.
“True sustainability is balancing your
social, economic and environmental
program,” explained Lindsey Verhaeghe,
corporate social responsibility specialist
for Agrium, an agriculture input company.
“You have to make investments back into
areas that are weak and improve them.”
Agrium partnered with the Alberta Cano-
la Producers Commission and the Calgary
Stampede to create Journey 2050.
To help students visualize the need for
balanced investment, each player has a
barrel in the corner of the screen. The slats
of the barrel represent components of sus-
tainable agriculture such as water quality,
soil health, education, food production,
profitability and jobs. A player’s sustain-
ability score can only rise as high as the
shortest section of the player’s barrel.
Verhaeghe pointed out that students
quickly realize how difficult it can be to
produce food sustainably, and the goal of
the game is to show players the need for
continued advancement and innovation in
agriculture.
No one knows better than Robert Saik
how technological improvements can
change agriculture for the better. Saik
is an agronomist who has been advising
farmers for 30 years. He noted that farm-
ers improve their soil health by increasing
organic matter. On Canadian farms, this
has been accomplished by moving towards
zero or minimum tillage.
“By doing this, we conserve organic
matter and reduce erosion from soils,”
Saik said. “And it’s technology such as
advanced equipment allowing us to
precisely place nutrients and other crop
inputs, along with enhancements in
genetic technology, that allow farmers to
achieve greater soil health.” He added that
for every one per cent of organic matter,
farmland sequesters 20 tonnes of carbon
per acre, thereby reducing greenhouse gas
emissions. Soils high in organic matter
also store water more efficiently, allowing
farmers to produce more food with the
same amount of water.
Nutrient use is another component of
agriculture that can improve the sustaina-
bility of farms, said Saik. Nitrogen fertiliz-
er is the most essential plant nutrient, and
a key to human survival, but too much
of it can acidify soils. On the other hand,
Saik said new technology like slow-release
fertilizer allows farmers to reduce nitrous
oxide emissions.
Just as Journey 2050 shows students
how sustainability is multifaceted, Saik
believes that more environmentally sus-
tainable agriculture is also more economi-
cally sustainable.
In the Journey 2050 game, players must balance the different components of sustainable agriculture tomaximize
their sustainability score.
Photos: Courtesyof Journey2050
The Food Issue
2016
Grains
West
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VIDEOGAME TEACHES KIDS ABOUT THE COMPLEXITIESOF AGRICULTURE
FARMING
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