Developing climate smart practices on the farm

“Farmers will be out there with the researchers and other collaborators getting their hands dirty, testing solutions in real conditions on real farms across the country,” Bibeau said. “That’s the fastest way to get research out of the lab and onto the farm, where it can make a real difference.”

Four provinces currently have Living Labs. The only lab in western Canada is located in Manitoba. The aim is to have at least one collaboration hub in every province.

Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Mary Robinson said the hope is the practices developed can give farmers a steady income stream for their environmental efforts by being linked to those carbon credits.

“That would be a much-needed incentive to spur increased engagement from farmers, while being extremely beneficial for the environment at the same time,” Robinson said.

Environment and Climate Change minister Johnathon Wilkinson said it is an opportunity to look at how far the industry can go with respect to practices that will help to enhance the sequestration capacity of soils.

“Those tend to be reasonably low-cost tonnes and that will be very helpful to us in terms of making progress on the climate issue,” Wilkinson said.

Producer groups have expressed concern with the recent carbon offset draft regulations. The term “business as usual” has farmers worried they would not get credit for past conservation measures.

Wilkinson said there are farming practices, like no-till, that help with respect to carbon sequestration.

“But as is the case in all sectors of the economy, what we need to do is actually find additional tonnes in terms of reductions,” he said. “We can’t meet our Paris obligations as a country without finding the additional tonnes that allow us to make progress towards our targets.”

Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) president Bob Lowe said Canada’s beef industry is a world leader in environmental performance.

“We welcome opportunities to work with the government of Canada through programs such as the Living Labs initiative to achieve our common environmental outcomes,” Lowe said. “Canada’s farmers and ranchers are part of the solution.”

Applications will be accepted in the fall and includes not-for-profits like producer organizations.

by Alice McFarlane

Developing climate smart practices on the farm

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