By Angela Brown

Grain farmers encouraged to take part in consultation to establish code of practice

Dec 13, 2020 | 6:21 PM

Producers still have an opportunity to participate in an online consultation to establish a code for best practice for grain farming.

The focus of the Responsible Grain.ca initiative is to establish a quality code of practice for growing cereals, oilseeds, and specialty crops. The initiative aims to outline standards for managing nutrients, pesticide use, as well as soil quality, for example, as part of this comprehensive, integrated study.

The project started last year and continues until the end of February 2021. Then, a report on the recommendations is expected to be released in the spring.

“We will actually be able hold up a piece of paper to our buyers in another country or to consumers that this is the base-line code of practice that [Canadian] farmers operate by,” Ted Menzies, chair of the Responsible Grain Code Development Committee, said. “They grow their wheat respecting the soil, respecting the water, and respecting the air around it.

Responsible Grain is described as a national, voluntary code of practice that will allow Canadian grain farmers to show how committed they are to protecting the environment.

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Menzies said it’s important for producers to provide their input on what makes sense on a farm economically, environmentally, and socially.

The project came about in response to the public’s interest in knowing where the food on their table comes from.

“The beef industry has already done this very successfully,” Menzies said. “The grains industry has tapped into some of their knowledge and findings, and we are working with that knowledge.”

The project is also about informing consumers and gaining their trust.

Menzies said consumers want to know producers grow their grain in a sustainable manner.

“Are you growing it sustainably, are you taking care that you are using pure seeds, and that you are not overfertilizing, that you are taking care of the land,” he said of some of the priorities of farming best practices.

John Bennett, a farmer from Biggar, was on the panel that included government representatives and farmers from across Canada who helped create the recommended code of practice.

He was asked to take the role by a consortium from grain-producing commodity groups in Saskatchewan.

Bennett has a long history as an advocate for conservation and sustainable farming, so the project is important to him.

His family has operated a no-till farm for over 30 years. No-till farming helps reduce the amount of soil erosion that tillage can cause in some soils.

Bennett said having a diverse crop rotation also benefits the soil as well.

He also follows a prudent pest management process, all part of the effort to adhere to sustainable farming practices.

“What I think one of the key [principles] to a sustainable operation is when you try and function on a commercial farm as much in sync with nature as you can,” he said.

Commodity groups and other grain value chain organizations also have an opportunity to participate by contacting the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Crops at info@responsiblegrain.ca

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @farmnewsNOW