Sustainability is a topic that gets talked about a lot these days. But what does it mean to Canadian farmers? From managing food waste to precision agriculture techniques, find out how the McKenna family of Prince Edward Island is constantly working to keep their farming businesses environmentally, socially and economically sustainable.
How has the role of women in farming changed in the past decade?
Women play an essential role in Canadian agriculture. Like Andrea McKenna’s farm, many operations are run and supported by women active in every component of the farm business. According to Statistics Canada, 28.7% of farm operators in this country are female, a number that has increased in the last two decades.
There are more than two million Canadians working in agriculture that support farming and food production. In addition to on-farm production, women show leadership in roles ranging from science and research to retail, finance and engineering. Women are certainly critical to ensuring the long-term sustainability of Canadian agriculture.
What does sustainability on the farm mean to you?
Sustainability is like a three-legged stool. Each ‘leg’ of environment, economy and society are equally important. If one leg is weak or missing, the whole stool topples over.
More than 97% of farms in Canada are owned by families1 like the McKennas. Continuing the legacy of a family business is a top priority for many, so they want to make sure that their farms are profitable. If a crop is lost or damaged due to pests or disease it means wasted resources, wasted food, and lost money – so protecting that crop is essential.
Many farmers live where they work, so they need to keep that environment safe and healthy for their families and their employees. Pesticides are strictly regulated by Health Canada to ensure they are safe. Every pesticide has detailed instruction labels, which help farmers apply those products in a responsible way. Technologies like GPS and precision agriculture also mean that farmers can be more targeted when applying sprays, which is good for both people and the planet.
WHY IS SUSTAINABILITY IMPORTANT IN MODERN FARMING?
Protecting the environment and supporting biodiversity are key goals for Canadian farmers. Plant science innovations (like pesticides and improved crop varieties) make it possible for farmers to grow more food on less land. That means that almost 34 million acres are able to stay in natural states like forests and wetlands.
Farmers work hard to keep the soil healthy and productive. One of the ways they do that is through conservation tillage and no-till farming (minimizing disruption to the soil). Innovations like herbicide-tolerant crops mean that farmers don’t have to plow (turn soil over) every year to manage weeds. That keeps the soil micro-organisms happy and also helps to sequester carbon from the atmosphere. In fact, the carbon sequestration and fuel savings from no-till and conservation tillage practices saved an estimated 20 billion kgs of greenhouse gas emissions from being released into the atmosphere between 1996 and 2018, which is equivalent to removing about 13 million cars from the road for a year2.
What is precision agriculture and how does it support sustainable farming?
Precision agriculture is a method of farming that uses technological innovations – including GPS guidance, drones, sensors, soil sampling and precision machinery – in order to grow crops more efficiently. These technologies enable a farmer to apply inputs like water, pesticides, and nutrients in precise areas of a field, and in exact quantities. This makes the use of valuable resources more efficient and reduces the environmental impact of agriculture.
Here’s an example. Think about a front lawn that has a small patch of weeds. Using an urban pesticide, a homeowner can target and spray those weeds directly, instead of applying a pesticide to the whole lawn. Thanks to precision agriculture, farmers can do the same thing on a much larger scale, making them more productive and more sustainable. Without tools like precision agriculture and plant science technology, Canada’s farmers would need 50 per cent more land to grow the same amount of food we do now.
How do you reduce food waste on your farm?
We all know how frustrating it is to have food spoil in our pantry or fridge. Food waste can happen anywhere along the value chain – in the field, at the store, and in our own kitchens. In fact, each year in Canada almost 2.2 million tonnes of food is wasted.
Farmers use many tools and approaches to reduce food waste on their operations. During the growing season, pesticides help to protect crops from threats like insects and disease which can result in damaged and inedible food products. For example, without pesticides farmers would grow 39% fewer potatoes!
With storage crops like the potatoes, carrots and turnips grown by the McKenna’s, the after-harvest care is just as important. High-tech storage facilities keep the environment just right for the crops, ensuring that you can access high-quality, nutritious produce year-round.
Do farmers recycle?
As consumers we know the importance of recycling. We try to do our part by using our blue and purchasing containers with recyclable materials. Farmers care about reducing their plastic waste too!
Many of the products that farmers buy, including bags of seed and crop protection products, come in plastic bags or plastic containers. Not only is it important to recycle that plastic, but it needs to be done in a responsible way. That’s where programs like the ones run by Cleanfarms come in.
All across Canada, farmers like Andrea and Gordie McKenna can recycle their containers and seed bags, and responsibly dispose of unused/unwanted pesticides to ensure they don’t end up in a landfill. Since its inception, Cleanfarms has recycled over 137 million empty pesticide containers and almost two million kilograms of plastic bags.
[1] https://www.realdirtonfarming.ca/article/canadian-farms-farmers/farming-in-canada
[2] https://helpingcanadagrow.ca/benefits-to-the-environment