In this episode, the excellent and insightful agri-food power panel discussion continues on the topics of markets, sustainability and incentives. Mel Luymes chairs the panel of very knowledgeable people in Ontario agriculture, Crystal Mackay, an agriculture communicator, Dan Petker, a Norfolk farmer, Cher Mereweather, president of Provision Coalition, a food sustainability partnership, and Alfons Weersink, economics professor at University of Guelph. This discussion is inspired by Roger Martin’s ideas in his book “When More is not Better”. This is the fourth and final of four episodes focused on the ideas raised by management guru Roger Martin in his talk and book “When More is not Better” at the virtual Midwest Cover Crops Council Conference on February 24, 2021. These are made available courtesy of Soils at Guelph. 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." 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. More information: https://rogerlmartin.com/ https://mccc.msu.edu/ https://soilsatguelph.ca/ https://www.headlands.ca/ https://loft32.ca/ https://provisioncoalition.com/ https://www.uoguelph.ca/fare/bios/f_weersink.html https://twitter.com/petkerfarm

Food Farm Talk

Power Panel - Sustainability, Markets and Incentives in Agriculture - Part 4

Listen to a power panel from Ontario agriculture discuss balancing efficiency and resilience in agriculture. Mel Luymes chairs the panel of Crystal Mackay (Loft32), Dan Petker (Norfolk farmer), Dr. Alfons Weersink (University of Guelph), and Cher Mereweather (Provision Coalition) that unpacks what these ideas from Roger Martin mean for the agri-food industry. "When More Is Not Better", thoughts from 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." 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. More information: https://rogerlmartin.com/ https://mccc.msu.edu/ https://soilsatguelph.ca/ https://www.headlands.ca/ https://loft32.ca/ https://provisioncoalition.com/ https://www.uoguelph.ca/fare/bios/f_weersink.html https://twitter.com/petkerfarm

Power Panel - Balancing Efficiency and Resilience in Agriculture - Part 3

Roger Martin, the world’s #1 management thinker, continues his conversation with Mel Luymes (Principal, Headlands Ag-Enviro) on the perils of obsessively pursuing efficiency in agriculture, and how agriculture can become more resilient. "When More Is Not Better", thoughts from 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." “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. More information: https://rogerlmartin.com/ https://mccc.msu.edu/ https://soilsatguelph.ca/

Agriculture - When More Is Not Better - Roger Martin - Part 2

"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. More information: https://rogerlmartin.com/ https://mccc.msu.edu/ https://soilsatguelph.ca/

Agriculture - When More Is Not Better - Roger Martin - Part 1

The Agriculture Carbon Alliance was recently launched and Keith Currie talks about the Alliance membership and purpose and the federal climate plan. Keith is the Vice-President of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, a member of the Alliance, a Simcoe county farmer and past president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture. The new federal climate plan has many climate-related proposals and funding for agriculture, but few details. The Alliance hopes to engage the federal government on those proposals. We discuss carbon tax, soil health, offsets, fertilizer use, technology and nature-based solutions. 2021 should be an interesting year for climate policy and agriculture. https://agcarbonalliance.ca/ https://www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/weather/climatechange/climate-plan/climate-plan-overview/healthy-environment-healthy-economy.html

Agriculture Carbon Alliance and Canada's Climate Plan

Emily, Abdul and Paul roundup some of the hot topics in agri-food in the last six months. These include Quebec's new Sustainable Agriculture plan, Canada's new climate plan and agriculture, food price trends in 2021 and labour unrest in agriculture, especially India.  More information: https://www.quebec.ca/gouv/politiques-orientations/politique-bioalimentaire/agriculture-durable/ https://www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/weather/climatechange/climate-plan/climate-plan-overview.html https://www.dal.ca/sites/agri-food/research/canada-s-food-price-report-2021.html

Agri-food News Roundup - Sustainability, Climate, Food Prices and Labour

Farmers for Climate Solutions' Director Karen Ross talks to Paul Smith about their report “A better future starts on the farm: Recommendations for recovery from COVID-19 in Canadian agriculture” and its five recommendations to support farmers recovering from the pandemic while helping them deal with the long-term effects of the climate crisis. Their lobbying efforts resulted in a key phrase added to the recent Throne Speech "recognize farmers, foresters, and ranchers as key partners in the fight against climate change, supporting their efforts to reduce emissions and build resilience." Hopefully, additional measures for farmers and ranchers will appear in the new federal climate plan, expected soon. The five recommendations are discussed. https://farmersforclimatesolutions.ca/policy-solutions https://www.canada.ca/en/privy-council/campaigns/speech-throne/2020/speech-from-the-throne.html https://www.agr.gc.ca/eng/agriculture-and-climate/agricultural-practices/climate-change-and-agriculture/greenhouse-gases-and-agriculture/

Farmers for Climate Solutions - Karen Ross - Pandemic Recovery and Climate Change

COVID-19 and Data Decisions after Disruptions - Part 2. Got data? That is a question of the day it seems.  In the midst of this pandemic our interest in data has never been great. Welcome to the panel discussion on data and decision making during the time of disruption. It's hosted by the Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph. Jeff Wichtel, Dean of the Imperial Veterinary College chairs a panel of University of Guelph experts. Rozita Dara, an associate professor school of computer science, Amy Greer Research Chair in Population Disease Modeling and associate professor, Department of Population Medicine. Simon Somogyi, an Arrell chair in Business of Food and associate professor school of Hospitality Food and Tourism Management. And Alfons Weersink professor, department of Food Agriculture and Resource Economics. Part 2 of the webinar. More info: https://arrellfoodinstitute.ca/webinars/

COVID-19 + Data Decisions after Disruptions - Part 2

Got data? That is a question of the day it seems.  In the midst of this pandemic our interest in data has never been great. Welcome to the panel discussion on data and decision making during the time of disruption. It's hosted by the Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph. Jeff Wichtel, Dean of the Imperial Veterinary College chairs a panel of University of Guelph experts. Rozita Dara, an associate professor school of computer science, Amy Greer Research Chair in Population Disease Modeling and associate professor, Department of Population Medicine. Simon Somogyi, an Arrell chair in Business of Food and associate professor school of Hospitality Food and Tourism Management. And Alfons Weersink professor, department of Food Agriculture and Resource Economics.  More info: https://arrellfoodinstitute.ca/webinars/

COVID-19 + Data Decisions after Disruption - Part 1

Here is Part 2 of the discussion on #COVID-19 social impacts on rural communities.  Philip Loring, Arrell Chair in Food Policy and Society at the University of Guelph, chairs a panel on the impact on rural communities. First panelist is Abdul-Raheem Abdulai, he's an Arrell scholar and PhD candidate in the Department of Geography. Second is Dr. Ryan Gibson who's an Associate Professor in Regional Economic Development, he's in the Rural Planning and Development program at the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development. Third is Dr. Helen Hambly Odame, she's an Associate Professor of Capacity in the Capacity Development and Extension program also in the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development. Finally is Jacqui Empson Laporte is an Environmental Specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs. Part 1 of this discussion is a previous episode.  More information: https://arrellfoodinstitute.ca/webinars/

COVID19 - Social Impacts on Rural Communities - Part 2

COVID-19 has had many social impacts on rural communities.  Philip Loring, Arrell Chair in Food Policy and Society at the University of Guelph, chairs a panel on the impact on rural communities. First panelist is Abdul-Raheem Abdulai, he's an Arrell scholar and PhD candidate in the Department of Geography. Second is Dr. Ryan Gibson who's an Associate Professor and the Libro Professor in Regional Economic Development, he's in the Rural Planning and Development program at the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development. Third is Dr. Helen Hambly Odame, she's an Associate Professor of Capacity in the Capacity Development and Extension program also in the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development. Finally is Jacqui Empson Laporte she's an Environmental Specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs. Part 1 of the discussion. Part 2 to come. More information: https://arrellfoodinstitute.ca/webinars/

COVID-19 + Social Impacts on Rural Communities, Part 1

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. More information: https://fertilizercanada.ca/nutrient-stewardship/ https://nutrientstewardship.org/

Sustainable Fertilizer Use in Agriculture – the Environment

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. More information: https://fertilizercanada.ca/nutrient-stewardship/ https://nutrientstewardship.org/ 

Sustainable Fertilizer Use in Agriculture – the 4 Rs – What is it?

In the episode, Abdul discusses some of the agricultural-related news that have made waves in May. Some of the issues include the Federal government support for the ag sector and sector reactions, Covid-19 deepened labour crises in Canadian agriculture and disruptions to meat supply chains. 

Some Canadian Agricultural News in May

FoodFarm Talk is an interactive program on food and farming that builds on the diverse research at the University of Guelph and the strong Ontario agri-food community, to inform listeners some of the wonderful work being done from farm to fork. The program celebrates the people, research, and work that shape the food we eat. Broadcast on radio Thursday 10:00 am on CFRU 93.3 FM in Guelph, ON, Canada, live on www.cfru.ca or podcast here on Anchor, Spotify, Apple podcasts and Google Podcasts. Produced by Abdul-Rahim Abdulai, Emily Duncan, Paul Smith and Cameron Ogilvie.

hubhopper

Food Farm Talk

hubhopper