Forum to address future of Prairie agriculture

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/11/2023 (1023 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A national coalition has sent 10,000 letters to farmers, attempting to draw them together to brainstorm the future and sustainability of Prairie agriculture in a first-of-its-kind forum.

“I think what’s really important is that farmers are part of the discussion,” said Gordon Bacon, CEO emeritus of Pulse Canada.

He’s co-leading the first Prairie farmer and rancher forum hosted by Farmers for Climate Solutions, a farmer-led advocacy group.

The forum will span three months and three stops — Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. The topics will depend on what participants want to discuss, Bacon said.

He guessed government policy, market demand, farm resiliency and extreme weather will dominate the conversation.

Solutions gleaned from the forum — which will involve just 36 producers — will be shared with “anyone who’s interested,” Bacon said.

Food companies, government and financial institutions could be recipients of the forum’s results. A formal report is scheduled for release in late spring 2024.

“This isn’t a group that has the final say, but it’ll be a unique approach,” Bacon noted, adding the results will build on current discussion of agricultural practices.

Often, farmers don’t have a direct connection with food manufacturers, he said. Manufacturers and lenders are increasingly searching for sustainable producers.

If forum participants have questions about what industry is demanding, and why, experts can be brought in to speak, Bacon said.

“I think we want to guard against disconnect (with policy makers),” he said. “(There are) policies that can impact our profitability, policies that impact our abilities to help global food security challenges.

“Change is under way now, whether or not you even want to get into a discussion (about) whether the climate is changing,” Bacon continued. “There is this market and economic change that is impacting what we as Canadians want to do.”

Farmers for Climate Solutions mailed 10,000 letters across the three Prairie provinces to drum up participation in the forum, Bacon said.

People can also apply to participate on the organization’s website until Nov. 29 at 12:59 a.m. (or end of day Nov. 28 mountain time).

Thirty-six producers will be selected in a random lottery system using Mass LBP, a Toronto-based consultant that’s held citizens’ assemblies, a spokesperson for Farmers for Climate Solutions wrote in an email.

The aim is to incorporate all demographics — a mix of ages, genders, locations and types of producers, Bacon said.

People are not chosen based on their opinions; those aren’t pre-known by the forum leads, he continued.

“(We’ll) try to work together to see if there is an agreement about approaches that relate to profitability and improvement at the farm level,” Bacon explained. “The idea is we don’t start with a uniform group.”

The forum is scheduled to meet at Elkhorn Resort in Manitoba Jan. 3 through 5. They’ll travel to Saskatchewan in February and Alberta in March.

“Reasonable” travel, lodging and meals will be covered, Farmers for Climate Solutions’ website relays.

Gabriela Warrior Renaud, communications manager for Farmers for Climate Solutions, didn’t answer how much money is allotted to the forum but said the organization is funded by philanthropy and private grants from Canadian foundations.

Lawrence Knockaert, a dairy farmer in Bruxelles, Man., and chair of the Manitoba Forage and Grasslands Association, applauded the forum.

“Anytime farmers exchange information or share ideas at a forum, a conference, a workshop or coffee shop is a good thing,” he wrote in a statement. “We learn from each other.”

He noted there are several Prairie-based groups leading programs aiding in best farm management practices.

Canada’s agricultural sector accounts for 12 per cent of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions, a 2020 study published in Carbon Footprints, a scientific journal, found. High-input farming practices heavily reliant on fossil fuels, pesticides and plastics dominate much of the emissions output, Farmers for Climate Solutions’ website notes.

Sustainable farming practices have become an increasingly large conversation within the industry.

Farmers for Climate Solutions is accepting applications for the forum at www.prairie-ag-forum.ca.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com