Ag Policy Connection, S3 Ep. 3 — The economics driving land use change

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When it comes to land use, some ways that land provides value are easy to measure and monetize, such as growing crops, raising livestock, or developing real estate. But other types of value, especially those that benefit broader society, like providing biodiversity, wildlife habitat preservation, carbon sequestration, and flood or fire risk mitigation, are much harder to quantify and monetize.

To recognize and encourage these broader benefits, food companies, banks, environmental groups, and governments are offering metaphorical carrots or financial support, as well as sticks, often in the form of regulations or contract requirements, aimed at influencing land use decisions.

Examples of these efforts range from conservation initiatives like ALUS (Alternative Land Use Services) to the Canadian government’s new Resilient Agricultural Landscapes Program (RALP) and the existing On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF). Food companies like PepsiCo and General Mills are incentivizing specific practices such as cover cropping to meet their sustainability goals. Meanwhile, governments are shaping land use through policies such as the European Union’s deforestation rules and biofuel mandates tied to the carbon intensity of crops used for feedstocks.

As we continue with this season of The Ag Policy Connection podcast looking at the future of farmland, this episode dives into the economics driving land use decisions by farmers and landowners, focusing on the impact of private and public sustainability programs and other market incentives.

Our panelists:

Shawn Catherwood, a farmer from southern Saskatchewan, helps others navigate sustainability programs through his consulting business, Spur Line Crop Solutions.
Brian Innes, executive director of Soy Canada, has over a decade of experience working on policy issues affecting land use, including Canada’s Clean Fuel Regulations and the EU’s deforestation policies.
Pascal Theriault, an agricultural economist and director of McGill University’s Farm Management and Technology program, whose work includes studying agricultural value chains and farmers’ adoption of sustainability practices.

Together, we explore these critical questions and more:

– What drives changes in land use? Is it simply about dollars and cents?
– Can we identify examples of successful outcomes where both landowners and society benefit?
– What role should public versus private/market incentives play in shaping land-use decisions?
– How do offsets compare to insets when it comes to sustainability programs?

Join us for this thought-provoking discussion as we unpack the economics shaping the future of farmland!

The Ag Policy Connection podcast is a collaboration between RealAgriculture and the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute. Season 3 of the Ag Policy Connection ties in with CAPI’s PLAN (Policies for Land use, Agriculture, and Nature) initiative.

 

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