Human life heavily depends on a thin layer of topsoil. It grows food, retains water, and sequesters carbon. However, topsoil degradation is compromising the resilience of our soil against flooding, droughts, and pests, as well as destabilizing our food security. Many farmers have played, and continue to play, an important role in maintaining and increasing the health of our soil, but the urgency for farmers to implement and document soil-smart practices is growing across the value chain and amongst the general public.

In this episode, host Crystal Mackay digs deep with Cedric MacLeod, Farmer and the Executive Director of Canadian Forage and Grassland Association, and Tim Wray, Cattle Rancher at Wray Ranch, about why soil health is so important, how farmers can farm with the soil in mind, and the opportunity that stakeholders across the agri-food value chain have to support farmers in this work.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

02:30 The importance of soil health

06:45 Intensively managed rotational grazing 

09:05 Barriers to implementing soil health practices

14:03 Regenerative ag versus extractive finance

15:05 Financial incentives and support programs

17:30 Alignment of the stakeholder community

19:49 Advice for farmers and ranchers

22:08 Conclusion

Links:

Credits:

Host: Crystal Mackay https://ca.linkedin.com/in/crystal-mackay-683b26a

Producers: Meredith Martin https://twitter.com/meredithmartin and 

Cara Stern https://twitter.com/carastern

Production coordinator: Rebecca Babcock https://ca.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-babcock

Music: Dustin Stern http://dustinspace.com

The Ag Podcast is produced by Generate Canada https://generatecanada.ca/ with support from Co-operators https://www.cooperators.ca/en/insurance/farm and the Smart Prosperity Institute https://institute.smartprosperity.ca/

Questions or Comments? Reach out to us at [email protected] 

Canadian farmers have been farming with people and the planet in mind for a long time. While previously known as ‘best management practices,’ ‘sustainability’ quickly became the word of choice when discussing farming practices that improve yield to feed a growing world and have limited impacts on the planet and future generations. And now there is a new kid on the block: regenerative agriculture. How do sustainability and regenerative agriculture relate to one another? How has sustainability in agriculture evolved over time? What are the challenges in farming sustainably, and what is needed to continue the increased adoption of sustainable practices across the country?

In today’s episode, host Crystal Mackay explores sustainability in agriculture with Tim Faveri, Vice President of Sustainability and Stakeholder Relations at Nutrien, and Chris Perry, Farmer and President of CKP Farms Ltd.

Chapters:00:00 Introduction guests and topic

02:40 Defining sustainability in agriculture

04:25 Defining regenerative agriculture

06:33 Innovative practices on CKP Farms

08:22 Progressing farming on the Perry Family Farm

09:40 Sequestering carbon through soil health

12:17 The Importance of collaboration in the agricultural industry

14:10 The role of data and technology in sustainability

15:14 Like and subscribe animation isn’t there

15:33 Barriers for farmers investing in regenerative agriculture

20:00 Tim’s motivation - incremental progress

22:50 Discussions across the value chain

23:50 The argument for the term Regenerative Agriculture

25:00 Chris’s motivation - thinking generationally

27:48 Advice for farmers - share your stories

Links:

Video: Carbon Markets 101 (Generate Canada - CANZA) https://youtu.be/wRY8hujkNMM?si=pyg9Fjy1MJp20IDeVideo: Explore Sustainability and Innovation at the Perry Family Farm in Chin, Alberta: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA-oBFxaDiYNutrien’s sustainability strategy: https://www.nutrien.com/sustainability/strategyVideo: Regenerative Agriculture on a Saskatchewan Farm (Canadian Food Focus) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nxsh5omTTyg

Credits:

Host: Crystal Mackay https://ca.linkedin.com/in/crystal-mackay-683b26a

Producers:

Meredith Martin https://twitter.com/meredithmartin and Cara Stern https://twitter.com/carastern

Production coordinator:

Rebecca Babcock https://ca.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-babcock

Music: Dustin Stern http://dustinspace.com

The Ag Podcast is produced by Generate Canada https://generatecanada.ca/ with support from Co-operators https://www.cooperators.ca/en/insurance/farm and the Smart Prosperity Institute https://institute.smartprosperity.ca/Questions or Comments? Reach out to us at [email protected]

It is estimated that globally, 8-10% of total greenhouse gas emissions are a direct result of food waste. Canadians contribute to that global total, creating an estimated 50 million tonnes of food waste every year. Meanwhile, emissions from manure represent 20% of a farm’s carbon footprint. These two challenges may seem unrelated, but there is an emerging agricultural solution that can both reduce food waste and transform the emissions from food and animal waste into energy and fertilizer: anaerobic biodigesters.

While Canada’s carbon market scene is far behind that of Australia and Europe, it is developing into a new economic avenue for farmers, where getting compensated for climate-smart farming practices is a real possibility. However, there remains a lot of uncertainty around this emerging opportunity. What is it? How does it work? And can it be trusted?

There are currently 122,000 vacant jobs in Canada’s agriculture sector. This number is only expected to grow due to an aging workforce where more people are expecting to retire, alongside fewer working people and fewer young people entering the industry. These vacancies are impacting farmers. We’re seeing people working unsustainably long hours, giving up on expansion plans, and leaving the industry altogether. So, how can we start closing this gap?

In the next ten years, over 40% of Canadian farms will change hands. With 97% of farms being family-owned and operated, this means a lot of challenging – but necessary – discussions between family members on the future of their farm. But when do you start these discussions? Where do you have these discussions? And how do you approach these discussions?

About a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions come from the important task of feeding the world. But farms have a unique opportunity to reduce emissions by pulling carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere through soil and trees. There’s even a way to measure the carbon in the soil so that farmers are compensated for it. 

In this video, host Crystal Mackay answers some common questions about farming carbon, discusses carbon in agriculture, and goes through the steps farmers can take to pull carbon into their soil and get compensated for it.