With farmland under pressure from urban expansion, conservation needs, and economic development, it raises the critical — and contentious — question: who should decide how land is used? Private landowners’ rights are essential and rightfully expected in Canada, but there’s also an argument to be made that the public has a stake in land-use decisions… Read More
Category: Sustainability programs and lending
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… Read More
Across much of Canada, there have traditionally been very few options for landowners to get paid for the overall value created by land conservation. Whether it’s grassland, farmland, or a different form of natural habitat, the broader societal benefits of that land often go unrecognized. Instead, land is converted, sold, and developed for uses that… Read More
The announced withdrawal of six major farm groups from the Sustainable Ag Strategy steering committee is a safe move for two reasons. First, there is little belief that the current government has a chance at forming the next government, and the Conservative government-in-waiting will most likely abandon the process anyway. Second, farmers see environmental policies… Read More
A competitive advantage in the business world refers to factors that allow a company to produce goods or services for more value than their rivals. It’s when a business is better at making, selling, and ultimately, profiting from a product than their competitors. Canada’s agriculture and food sector, as a whole, has a strong story… Read More
Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) is set to receive $162,500 in grant funding from The Coca-Cola Company in Canada. The grant will be used to support community-based efforts to improve watershed health in three of the communities that ALUS and Coca-Cola operate. These communities are: Rocky View in Alberta, Peel Region of Ontario, and Laurentides… Read More
Agriculture can be a difficult industry to get into, especially for those that were not raised in it. Access to land, equipment and practical experience are often essential for creating a successful business model, and while there are courses and schools that can help with the knowledge piece, agriculture is an industry that typically requires… Read More
Syngenta has announced the integration of the Cool Farm Tool (CFT) into its Cropwise Sustainability (CWS) application. CFT is a globally-recognized carbon quantification tool that allows farmers to measure estimated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on their farms. By integrated with CWS, farmers can now pair with custom recommendations to reduce their environmental footprint, Syngenta says…. Read More
The Alberta and Canadian governments announced Wednesday $1.9 million in funding for the Alberta Beef Producers in support of the Verified Beef Production Plus (VBP+). The funding is provided through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership. The VBP+ program offers certification to beef producers, providing verification that they are operating sustainably through on-farm practices such as… Read More
Farmers and ranchers face many pressures to farm and raise animals in certain ways to meet sustainability-related goals of others, including food companies, lenders, and government. Clauses in crop contracts, carbon credits, government payments for rotational grazing or using nitrogen loss inhibitors, the federal fertilizer emissions reduction target, clean fuel standards, codes of practice, and… Read More