6 It’s Farming. And It’s Better. Better Farming | April 2024 Beyond the Barn REGENERATIVE FARMERS SHARE THEIR STORIES A new national campaign is putting Canadian farmers who implement regenerative agriculture practices in the spotlight. Regeneration Canada, promotors of regenerative agriculture and soil health, recently launched its Stories of Regeneration campaign. “Our mission is to promote and scale out regenerative agriculture across the country,” Antonious Petro, executive director of Regeneration Canada, told Better Farming. The Stories of Regeneration campaign features a collection of films, podcast conversations, articles and webinars with 10 Canadian farmers, including Ontario’s Blake Vince, a fifth-generation farmer who grows corn, soybeans and winter wheat on about 1,200 acres near Merlin. His family started a no-till system in the 1980s and he recently re-introduced cattle onto the land to complete the regenerative cycle. “That’s one part that was missing on our farm,” he told Better Farming. “When you don’t have ruminant livestock, immediately plants that come out of the rotation are perennials like alfalfa, deep-rooted plants that extract nutrients. “When a ruminant animal can graze that vegetation into manure and urine, which is good for subsequent crop production, all while producing beef, it becomes a win-win, and the cattle become a key element to the soil ecosystem.” Vince got involved to show how farmers work to improve society. “Farmers like to talk about how they’re producers of food, but I’m so far removed from a consumer because I produce commodities,” he said. “I produce corn that goes to ethanol, or soybeans that went to biodiesel. We do these things for the collective betterment of society.” BF - Diego Flammini The Canadian beef industry is making progress in its goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (CRSB) recently released its National Beef Sustainability Assessment & Strategy, which states that, compared to 2014, the production of one kilogram of beef creates 15 per cent less greenhouse gases. The National Beef Sustainability Assessment addresses three areas of focus for sustainability in the industry: Environment, social, and economic. This report compares metrics to the initial data, which was shared in 2016 and used information from 2014. The assessment found that the beef industry has improved in most environmental metrics, including carbon footprint, fossil fuel depletion, the accumulation of nutrients in fresh water, and air pollution. These improvements are largely attributed to increasing production efficiency. “It’s exciting to see the 15 per cent reduction in GHG emissions intensity, which puts us on track to achieve the 33 per cent reduction 2030 goal that the industry has set,” said Ryan Beierbach, chair of the CRSB and Saskatchewan beef producer, in a release from CRSB. “I am proud of the Canadian beef industry’s commitment to continuous improvement, and the progress already made on our sustainability journey. This assessment demonstrates the important role Canadian beef producers and our members play in advancing sustainability, and what we can accomplish when we work together towards common goals,” Beierbach said. Maintenance of wildlife habitats is another success for the industry. While the total area for wildlife habitats has decreased in Canada, the land used by beef farmers and ranchers provides 74 per cent of the habitat for wildlife to raise their young, and 55 per cent of the land required for wildlife to find food. The results of the environmental portion of the assessment depict the positive improvements that have set the industry on track to meet its 2030 environmental goals. BF GHG PROGRESS IN BEEF INDUSTRY Emily Croft photo
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