Behind the Lines - March
Monday, March 7, 2016
Harold and Jan Schooley have to deal with nine different on-farm inspections for their apple and lavender production in Norfolk. Broiler chicken producer Ted van den Hurk, Simcoe County, deals with seven different inspections, the same number as New Hamburg on-farm cheese maker Adam van Bergeijk. And, at Kincardine, organic dairy producer Lawrence Andres can expect six different inspectors on his farm.
But perhaps the most surprising finding made by writers Mary Baxter and Susan Mann as they talked to producers about the increasing burden of on-farm inspections, in terms of dollar and time commitment, was the experience of seed grower and cash cropper Jim Gowland of South Bruce. He can expect inspectors on his farm for 24 different second and third party inspections.
As Baxter and Mann explain, following careful research, inspections or audits are often divided into three different types. In a first-party inspection, the business under scrutiny undertakes its own inspection and reports results. Self-reporting for crop insurance is an example. Second-party inspection involves a supplier or an industry organization. A veterinarian reporting on the health and well-being of a client's livestock for an industry quality control program also falls into this category, as does an elevator operator field-inspecting a crop grown to its specifications. A third-party inspector is unconnected to the business and may be working on behalf of the purchaser of a crop. Third-party audits are becoming the norm for marketing programs that make specific claims about how a particular product is produced.
Of the total of 54 different sets of requirements experienced by the seven farmers Baxter and Mann interviewed, government regulation was behind nearly three quarters of the inspections that take place on their farms or in connection with their farm business. While there is a perception that suppliers and the federal government are being demanding, the findings indicate that an inspection is five times as likely to be generated by a provincial regulation as by a buyer or a federal rule. The story on inspections starts on page 10.
Was a drone under your Christmas tree in December? Figured out yet how to use it as more than just a toy? Yield Matters writer Dale Cowan reminds you to check with Transport Canada about how to get approval to fly it, even on your own property. Cowan explains a number of levels of use of that device that can be revenue boosters on the farm. His story is on page 34.
It's not often that the crop advisors we talk to are stumped when it comes to an interesting problem in a field. But that's what happened in the case of CSI #60, published in last month's issue. Look to page 31 for the solution, and congratulations to the contest winner, Bryan Ward of Williamstown. BF
ROBERT IRWIN & DON STONEMAN