Farmers asked to make responsible decision

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This article was published 30/01/2021 (2086 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

‘What is this Responsible Grain thingy? It’s the first I’ve heard of it,” a befuddled farmer tweeted this week as the social media network lit up with farmers weighing on consultations underway about the initiative.

The series of online consultations is seeking farmer feedback on a proposed voluntary code of practice that commits to certain standards for nutrient management, pest and pesticide management, soil and water management, and health and well-being.

The Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Crops, an industry consortium with representatives from a wide cross-section of commodity and producer organizations as well as non-government stakeholders, wants to show that grain farmers walk their talk when it comes to responsible production practices.

But although the draft code making the rounds has had input from and is generally supported by most of the producer and commodity organizations in the country, the rank-and-file membership will take some convincing.

“That’s a pretty intense set of rules that could someday be mandatory. Scary,” posted one farmer after completing an extensive survey about the proposal.

Judging from the social media posts, many farmers were surprised and taken aback by the draft put forward for discussion even though the project has been in the works for a while.

Proponents of the project are going to great lengths to reassure those concerned that the final code can and will be influenced by farmers before it is finalized.

“The thing that we need to remember is that we’re developing this in a draft form and that we are spending time for consultations across the country. It’s very important that farmers are part of the building process, part of the input as to what makes sense on a farm — economically, environmentally, and socially,” said Ted Menzies, an Alberta farmer and chair of the Responsible Grain Code Development Committee.

Farmers are worried about it increasing their paperwork and their costs, whether the voluntary standards will eventually become mandatory, and the fact that organizations such as Ducks Unlimited (DU) are part of the team setting the priorities. DU’s work to preserve waterfowl habitat periodically conflicts with farmers’ priorities for land management and drainage.

“It’s no secret that DU is on the Responsible Grain committees in a few positions. I don’t like it one bit. And I’ve been extremely clear about that in any circle I’ve commented on it,” says another posting.

The draft code of practice commits farmers to identifying and protecting areas on their farms that support biodiversity and are beneficial to wildlife. While some farmers are already doing that, many would see that as a threat to their ability to manage their land as they see fit.

The fact is, many of the concerns farmers might have over this are real. Adhering to this code could well increase their costs. There will be more paperwork. Some of these voluntary “requirements” in the code could in fact become mandatory, either through government regulations or commercial contracts.

It adds an extra layer of decision-making in a business in which operators are often squeezed for time or short of other resources. Of course you don’t want to spray herbicides on a windy day. But what about that last 20 acres as the early morning breeze starts to pick up speed?

If the code is put into place, you can bet outsiders will be watching to see whether farmers are adhering to it. Even if a farmer complies 99 per cent of the time, sure as anything, someone will be there to catch them up on the one per cent of the situations in which they don’t.

So why invite trouble?

“Because it’s time,” says Menzies in a video message to growers. “It’s time that farmers were actually allowed to show to those that consume what we grow on our farm that we are acting responsibly and that we care about the environment.”

Farmers might grumble, but in all likelihood, they’ll eventually buy in.

As Canada seeks ways to differentiate itself in global markets as a safe, consistent, high-quality supplier of food, being able to say that its growers follow clearly defined practices certainly won’t hurt.

Laura Rance is vice-president of Content for Glacier FarmMedia. She can be reached at lrance@farmmedia.com