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STANDARDIZING
SUSTAINABILITY
THENATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL FARMPLAN
CONTINUES TOTAKE SHAPE
BY IAN DOIG
DEMAND BY AGRI-FOOD
businesses for sustainably produced crops
continues to increase. Addressing this,
provincial chapters of the Environmental
Farm Plan (EFP) program have been in
operation for more than two decades.
A voluntary, whole-farm, self-assessment
tool, it became the most utilized environ-
mental ag program in the country. Helping
farmers and ranchers identify and build on
the existing strengths of their operations,
it also helps mitigate risk in implementing
sustainability-focused practices. A substan-
tive 35 per cent of the country’s ranchers
and farmers, representing about 50 per
cent of Canada’s agricultural land, have
completed an environmental plan. The
Alberta Environmental Farm Plan was
launched in 2003 and has been operated by
the Agricultural Research and Extension
Council of Alberta since 2013.
Building on the strength of the provin-
cial plans, the National Environmental
Farm Plan (NEFP) is a work in progress in-
tended to harmonize EFPs across Canada.
Westlock-area farmer John Guelly is an
Alberta EFP Stakeholder Advisory Panel
member and Alberta Canola Producers
Commission director. He said there’s a
buzz about sustainability requirements. “It
hasn’t hit my farm or my area, but we have
a good idea that it’s coming.” He believes
Alberta farmers won’t be required to have
them in place for a few years, but the
eventuality may arrive with short notice.
Though the idea of forming a national
body has been percolating for years, its
formation was kick-started at the initial
NEFP summit in Ottawa last fall. Guelly
suggested there was desire to get ahead
of the curve tempered with acknowledge-
ment that establishing the structure will
take time.
The only impediment he foresees is
the diversity of Canada’s agricultural
landscape and the unique makeup of its
EFP organizations. “Part of establishing
the national program is to make it more
uniform across the country,” he said.
“So there could be some pushback from
some provinces to make sure some things
are included and others dropped.” The
challenge is in retaining all the necessary
customer requirements.
In Guelly’s experience, environmental
planning proved a positive experience.
“It’s very practical and useful to have on
the farm.” The potential benefits in estab-
lishing the national program are simple,
he said. With each Canadian farm having
a national environmental plan in place,
agri-food customers know their marketing
requirements are addressed.
The NEFP annual summit will take
place in Ottawa, Nov. 1 to 2. Alberta
Wheat Commission government relations
and policy manager Erin Gowriluk will
chair the event, while Agriculture Minis-
ter Lawrence MacAulay will speak at its
opening reception.
“It is my objective to ensure that all of
our industry partners feel engaged in the
development of a truly national initiative
that reflects the needs of Canada’s agri-
food value chain from farm to fork and
coast to coast to coast,” said Gowriluk.
“Canada’s Environmental Farm Plan
is unique in the world. It is developed by
producers, for producers, to encourage
continuous improvement. Now, we build
on that solid foundation by ensuring it
prepares participants to meet market
requirements with respect to farm level
sustainability.”
The organization’s four standing com-
mittees—struck to develop NEFP practic-
es—will deliver reports on data collection
management, verification/assurance and
standards.
Andrew Graham, executive director of
the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement
Association, is chair of the NEFP Stand-
ards Committee. He said the committee’s
central goal is to determine how to achieve
bronze-level recognition within the Sus-
tainable Agriculture Initiative Platform’s
Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA) 2.0
program for all provincial and territorial
EFPs. The intent is to tout the EFP as equiv-
alent to the globally accepted SAI Platform.
“Compliancy with FSA 2.0 Bronze will
recognize the time and effort already
invested by the farmer/rancher in the
development of their EFP action plan and
effectively streamline the FSA assessment
process,” he said. He added that multi-
national companies can be expected to
influence the standard-building process.
McCain Foods, for example, sources prod-
uct based on compliance with an accepted
industry standard for potato production.
“It may take a while for it to be imple-
mented, but the federal government is in
support of the program, and that’s a good
sign,” said Guelly of the NEFP. “I think
they’ll be the ones that will create the in-
centives for farmers to get on board. With
proper incentives, we’ll get even more buy-
in from farmers.”
NEFP event chair Erin Gowriluk.