Food Farm Talk

Sustainable farming is about the people and organizations working daily to that end. Stuart Wright is a dairy and cash crop farmer from Kenilworth, Wellington County, and a past President of Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association. Both Stuart and the Soil and Crop organization work hard on farm sustainability. Stuart describes his family’s work building soil health and sustainability using crop rotation, no till, strip till, cover crops, and the 4Rs of nutrient management. Since 1939, Soil and Crop has been innovating new ways of growing crops to improve both production and conservation. Stuart’s discussion with Paul Smith illustrates the complexity of juggling crops, livestock and changing practices. He also reflects about how farmers learn from other farmers, advisors and researchers, and then try new things on their farms—illustrating the importance of the network of organizations collaborating on sustainable agriculture. (Originally aired in 2020).

The Guelph Centre for Urban Organic Farming at the University of Guelph is a fascinating project combining the university’s strength in food and agriculture, local food supply chains, student learning and research, student activism, and community engagement. Mike Smith, the centre’s farm coordinator, talks with us about the activities of the Guelph Centre for Urban Organic Farming.

University of Guelph is known as Canada’s Food University and it began its existence as the Ontario Agricultural College. Students can also get a certificate in organic agriculture through the university. So, it is fitting to have the Guelph Centre for Urban Organic Farming here to help in learning and research. The centre is run through the Department of Plant Agriculture within the Ontario Agricultural College and is located within the University of Guelph Arboretum. The centre also connects to Hospitality Services at the university, to the SEED, to the student food bank, and other local partners.

Students voted in a 2019 referendum to provide $1 per student per term for 10 years to support the activities of the centre, through the Central Students Association. That funding plus support from the Department of Plant Agriculture, Ontario Agricultural College, finances the current activities of the centre. Mike Smith, the farm coordinator, summer student employees, and volunteers deliver farm activities.

Student and community volunteers are an important part of centre activities and are welcome to help with seasonal activities including planting, weeding, and harvest.

More Information:

https://www.uoguelph.ca/oac/gcuof

https://csaonline.ca/elections/archive/W19-general

https://www.uoguelph.ca/oac/guelph-centre-urban-organic-farming/volunteers

"Recruiting Soil to Tackle Climate Change: A Roadmap for Canada" is a 2022 report by the Soil Conservation Council of Canada and the Compost Council of Canada aimed at helping more people put carbon into soil and keep it there. 

The world’s soils have lost an estimated 133 billion tons of carbon since the beginning of agriculture 12,000 years ago. This loss represents a substantial opportunity for climate-change mitigation via carbon sequestration in soils. The challenges to building soil carbon, however, include socio-economic, political, and cultural barriers. Healthy soil microbial communities build carbon, while also generating societal benefits like clean water, but managing for soil health means adopting best-management practices (BMPs) that often run counter to perceived economic advantage and long-established cultural norms.

Soil-carbon sequestration is a “no regrets” approach, applying landscape-based solutions to climate change. It can be implemented at a relatively low cost per tonne of CO2e, and it has numerous co-benefits, such as increased fertility, cleaner water, and greater farm profitability. Moreover, the science behind these statements is not disputed. While there is some disagreement between scientists around the details, even the most conservative among researchers and academics recognize that the potential for building soil carbon levels is real and worth the investment. In fact, soil health is a topic that has been receiving a growing amount of attention worldwide over the past few years 

The Soil Conservation Council of Canada and the Compost Council of Canada released the final report in April 2022.   The Roadmap is a call to action and a plan for Canada to create a partnership with soil and with soil managers. And that will deliver significant benefits – for generations to come.

More information:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0orPeMZVB8

https://soilcc.ca/programs/recruiting-soil-to-tackle-climate-change/

http://www.compost.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Press-Release-Recruit-Soil-to-Tackle-Climate-Change.pdf

"When More Isn’t Better", thoughts from the world’s #1 management thinker, Roger L. Martin, on farm resilience, presented at the virtual Midwest Cover Crops Council Conference on February 24, 2021. Roger Martin is professor emeritus and former Dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. He grew up in Wallenstein, Ontario where his family was active with an agri-business in the feed industry. "There is a trade-off between efficient and effective…we’ve been pushing efficiency so hard that it is now having counterproductive impacts on life, the economy, the environment."

Following the theme of his latest book, WHEN MORE IS NOT BETTER: Overcoming America’s Obsession With Economic Efficiency, Martin participated in a keynote conversation with Mel Luymes (Principal, Headlands Ag-Enviro) to discuss the perils of obsessively pursing efficiency in agriculture, and how integrative thinking can help agriculture become more resilient.

“There is a trade-off between efficient and effective…we’ve been pushing efficiency so hard that it is now having counterproductive impacts on life, the economy, [the environment]. Pushing things to the extremes leads to extreme outcomes.”

In agriculture, our attention naturally goes to bushels per acre, feed conversion efficiency, and other efficiency measures. But other proxies – profit per acre, soil organic matter, annual soil loss – are necessary to develop a holistic picture of whether our farm enterprises are pursuing efficiency at the expense of resilience. (First aired in 2021).

More information:

https://rogerlmartin.com/

https://mccc.msu.edu/

https://soilsatguelph.ca/

The Environmental Farm Plan or EFP builds sustainability on Ontario and Canadian farms by farmers assessing their farms' environmental risks and changing practices to reduce or eliminate those risks. It began over 25 years ago in Ontario, led by farmer organizations working with governments, building consensus and changing social norms. EFP has now spread across Canada and evolved to fit each region’s needs. The evolution continues to meet changing demands. EFP may become the base for farms’ sustainability certification. An electronic version improves convenience and may appeal to younger generations. Listen to Paul Smith’s conversation with Andy Graham, Executive Director of Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association, and others reflecting on the history, evolution and future of the Environmental Farm Plan. (First aired in 2019).

https://www.ontariosoilcrop.org/oscia-programs/workshops-webinars/environmental-farm-plan/

http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/environment/efp/efp.htm

http://nationalefp.ca/

https://www.ontariosoilcrop.org/oscia-programs/workshops-webinars/environmental-farm-plan/efp-videos/

https://ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/sar/article/view/0/43433

Fertilizer is fundamental to agriculture and key to feeding all us, but excess nitrogen and phosphorus have unintended effects on soil ecosystems, water quality, and greenhouse gas emissions. This episode explores how the 4R Nutrient Stewardship program brings together research, agronomy, environmental science, and education to help farmers plan fertilizer use to conserve the environment while growing their crops. 4Rs practices can reduce phosphorus contributing to excessive algal growth and eutrophication, as well as reduce conversion of nitrogen to the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide. Extensive research is needed to define and support these practices. McKenzie Smith, Director, Stewardship and Regulatory Affairs at Fertilizer Canada in Ottawa and Nicole Penney of FS PARTNERS out of Guelph help us explore this topic. This second part of a two-part exploration of the 4Rs delves into the science, environmental aspects and related research on the 4Rs system. (First aired in 2020).

More information:

https://fertilizercanada.ca/nutrient-stewardship/

https://nutrientstewardship.org/

Fertilizer is fundamental to agriculture and key to feeding the world population. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are often the focus—what agronomists call crop nutrients. Yet fertilizer use can have unintended effects on soil ecosystems, water quality, and greenhouse gas emissions. So, sustainable use of fertilizer is a key issue in farm sustainability. The 4R Nutrient Stewardship program brings together agronomy, environmental science, crop planning and education to help farmers plan fertilizer use to grow their crops, save money and conserve the environment. The 4Rs stand for the Right Source @ Right Rate, Right Time, and Right Place for fertilizer application. McKenzie Smith, Director, Stewardship and Regulatory Affairs at Fertilizer Canada in Ottawa and Nicole Penney of FS PARTNERS out of Guelph help us explore this topic. The first of this two part exploration of the 4Rs delves into the science, training and practices within the 4Rs planning system. The next episode explores the environmental aspects and related research on the 4Rs system. (First aired in 2020).

More information:

https://fertilizercanada.ca/nutrient-stewardship/

https://nutrientstewardship.org/

Abdul talks to Alan Abdul Kader (@AlanKaderAg) , now a graduate of the Ontario Agricultural College, on a range of issues in today's agriculture. Alan traces his journey as a young high school  student who fell in love with agriculture while working on friend's family farms. The values of farming, including the ability to care for nature and being outdoors are among the drivers in  his journey. The episode emphasizes the positives agriculture has to  offer and why it is important for farmers (and the industry in general)  to be proactive in reaching out to the public. (First aired in 2019. Alan is now employed in agri-business in Alberta.)

https://twitter.com/AlanKaderAg

https://www.uoguelph.ca/oac/