But if so, that bandwagon is getting very crowded.

In a 10-day period last month, three new sustainability initiatives were announced by major players in the Canadian ag sector.

First up was the Egg Farmers of Canada, which unveiled an app called National Environmental Sustainability Tool (NEST) “that empowers Canadian egg farmers to measure, monitor and manage the environmental footprint of their own farm.”

The online tool allows producers to input data collected from their business (such as energy, feed and water use), compare their farms to other operations (the data will be anonymously aggregated) and set targets for improvements.

“With the growing demand and uses of eggs comes the responsibility to produce eggs sustainably, which is why our nation’s egg sector and our hard-working egg farmers from coast to coast remain committed to continually improving operations and practices and why we invest in innovation and new tools like NEST,” Egg Farmers CEO Tim Lambert said in a release.

A few days later, grain giant Richardson Pioneer issued a release saying it “leads Western Canada in 4R acres.”

The company said it has more than 80 “4R-designated” agronomists who have been promoting those fertilizing principles (Right Source at the Right Rate, Right Time, Right Place) to its farmer customers since 2019.

“Richardson Pioneer is proud to be the agri-retailer for 2.24 million acres — or 43.8 per cent of the total 5.12 million western Canadian acres in 2021 that followed the 4R principles,” it said in its release.

However, the pressure is on as the federal government targets a 30 per cent reduction in emissions from nitrogen fertilizers by 2030 and so a lot more farmers need to be adhering to the 4R program, the company said.

“There are nine growing seasons left before the 2030 emission reduction deadline and Fertilizer Canada has a goal of 30 million 4R acres across Canada by that year,” Richardson Pioneer noted.

The same day, Protein Industries Canada announced it was putting $626,000 towards developing the second phase of the National Index on Agri-Food Performance, an effort to create “science-based metrics” on Canada’s food system from farm to retail. The initiative is backed by more than 75 organizations in the food value chain and academia.

“The world needs more of Canada’s vision for modern, sustainable agriculture,” Pulse Canada president Greg Cherewyk said in the release. “This project gives Canadian farmers and the entire value chain the tools they need to quantify their sustainability performance through real data, ensuring the market is appropriately compensating our industry for the positive impact it has on the environment.”

The case for a grain code

But one of the strongest pitches is in a “white paper” released in January by the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Crops.

The paper was produced after the organization issued a draft code of practice for grain farmers last year — a move that met with a wall of criticism from producers asking why such a code was needed.

The short answer? Everyone from shoppers to grain buyers are asking questions that farmers need to answer, says the discussion paper.

“Although there aren’t strict sustainability requirements in place right now for the majority of Canada’s grain exports, the industry consensus is that there will be at some point in the future, potentially shutting Canada out of the higher-priced markets,” the white paper states. “There will also be immediate pressure from food company buyers and the government, as they push to meet their commitments to GHG reductions and other climate change mitigation measures.”

The 25-page document backs that statement with results from consumer surveys, a scan of what other countries are doing, and several pages of initiatives undertaken by grain and food companies operating in Canada.

“Canadian consumers trust farmers, but they do not necessarily trust all modern farming practices,” it said, citing surveys by the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity and the government of Saskatchewan.

The white paper also points to the European Union as an example of government restricting use of some pesticides “in response to strong consumer demand for change, which was in turn driven by strong anti-pesticide messaging pushed by NGOs, as well as sensational news coverage of chemical residues found in food products and lawsuits linking chemical residues to human health.”

It also says one of the main drivers in the rise of plant-based faux meats is consumers wanting to lower their environmental footprint.

The report also says farm groups in other countries are responding with their own sustainable or ‘responsible’ codes or certification programs, including grain growers in Australia, soybean producers in South America, and the palm oil sector.

“The fact that several of our competing agricultural-producing countries have already established their own sustainability assurance programs is concerning,” the white paper states. “As consumer demand for sustainably produced agriculture products grows, Canada stands to lose market advantage to competitors who are already certifying their products, especially as their programs become more accepted and recognized globally.”

It also makes clear that the private sector isn’t standing still and gives capsule descriptions of a host of sustainability programs from companies such as Cargill, Cavendish Farms, Maple Leaf, Viterra, General Mills, PepsiCo, McCain Foods, Maple Leaf Foods, Unilever and Warburton’s.

The report can be found at sustainablecrops.ca (opens as a PDF).

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Among the criticisms of the draft Responsible Grain code of practice: it’s not needed; it won’t provide any benefits to producers; it could pave the way for regulations that would hinder farmers; it’s confusing and overly wordy; and the record-keeping requirements aren’t practical or needed.

But the top complaint about the draft version prepared by the little-known Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Crops was the way it read.

“Many perceived the tone of the document as accusatory and would prefer that the code highlight good things farmers are doing,” states a recently released summary of the consultation.

Over four months this winter, the committee working on the code — which would be voluntary — heard from more than 850 people (92 per cent of them farmers, mostly from Western Canada) in two dozen consultation sessions and through an online survey.

The criticisms came even though the sustainable crops roundtable (made up of reps from farm groups, agribusinesses, and industry organizations) envisions the code as a way to show consumers and grain buyers that farmers are good stewards using environmentally sound practices.

But many respondents didn’t see it that way.

“I feel terribly offended by the fact that this set of rules is being proposed,” said one.

“For me, the tone of the draft document is extremely negative,” said another.

“The code would be much better to reword and say, ‘This is all of the things that our awesome agricultural producers already do for the landscape,’” added a third.

But some disagreed.

“I think it needs to be accurate and reflect the current situation. Otherwise, we lose credibility,” countered one respondent.

“If farmers don’t establish a code for themselves, a code will be established for them. Google ‘sustainable ag sourcing platforms’ and see if you like the alternatives more,” added another.

But there were other concerns, including whether it’s aimed at certain consumers or markets (“Who is it written for?”); that critics, such as environmental groups, will interpret the code for their own purposes; that the wording is vague or unclear; and much of it is covered by provincial guidelines and regulations or initiatives such as the 4Rs for fertilizer use.

But proponents of the code seem undaunted.

“The Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Crops is very appreciative of the time that grain farmers spent to provide feedback,” Alberta producer Jason Lenz, who chairs the code committee, wrote in a summary report on the responses.

He pledged his committee would examine three big questions: whether a code can or cannot “build public trust,” whether it can “maintain and enhance markets,” and whether it’s feasible to have a code that covers the entire supply chain. He said the committee will create a “white paper” to deal with those questions as well as the concerns of producers.

“We are taking seriously the issues that you raised in the consultations, including the content of the code, how we communicated about the code, and how the draft code was developed,” Lenz wrote. “We will examine these thoroughly after we have completed the white paper. We hope to have finished the above work by the fall of 2021.”

Lenz’s summary report can be found on the home page of responsiblegrain.ca. The full report is in the ‘Consultation reports’ section of the website.

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But that’s not for lack of trying on the part of the group who developed the draft Responsible Grain code of practice.

“Those farmers can’t tell me that they haven’t had a chance to know about it,” said Bentley-area farmer Jason Lenz, who was involved in developing the code.

“You know you’re not going to get to every farmer, but any farmer who’s actively farming should be dialled into what their provincial crop commissions are doing. They’ve known about this for a year now.”

Work on the code — which is voluntary — began in late 2019 and has been led by the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Crops, an eight-year-old organization made up of farm groups, major agribusiness companies, and industry organizations.

But in some quarters, the code only got noticed after the roundtable announced that consultations would take place this winter — with some questioning whether it was being thrust on farmers and would one day become mandatory.

But the code is not burdensome and will remain voluntary, and is only intended to show consumers and grain buyers that the sector produces grain in an environmentally responsible way, said Lenz.

“We’ve been kind of preaching to the choir about how good a job we’re doing,” he said. “Canadian farmers are amongst the most sustainable in the world, but we don’t have a tool that we can show people what we’re doing. We’re all being faced with that every year, whether it’s our own relatives living in urban areas or activist groups that are questioning how our food is grown.”

The draft has seven different sustainability modules, which range from nutrient management to on-farm health and wellness, covering practices that are “sustainable both environmentally and socially,” said Susie Miller, executive director of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Crops.

“By developing a code that is reasonable and farmer oriented, it allows control for farmers and other industry stakeholders over how sustainability is defined,” she said.

“It allows actual demonstration by being able to say, ‘These are the sustainable practices that are based in science and developed by a broad-spectrum committee from the farming community.’”

Documenting those practices is “a tool… to show our customers that we’re actually growing grains and oilseeds in a responsible manner,” added Lenz.

Lenz was one of four farmers on the committee, which also has reps from industry, academia and government and was led by Ted Menzies, the former politician, CropLife Canada CEO and farm leader from Claresholm.

“The real strength of how this code got developed is by including the entire grain value chain, right from farmers to food processors to food distributors to NGOs like Ducks Unlimited Canada,” Lenz said.

“I don’t expect to agree with everyone on everything, but that’s how you get a well-balanced document — by having all those different perspectives.”

But the group was focused on ensuring the code made sense for producers.

Some farmers on social media expressed concern about Ducks Unlimited Canada’s involvement, but Lenz said no one “pushed any sort of agenda.”

“What he did was what we all did — try to bring a different perspective to each and every one of these modules that we went over with a fine-tooth comb,” said Lenz, adding the rep for Ducks Unlimited is also a farmer.

“Sometimes we don’t all agree with what Ducks Unlimited is doing, but it does do some good, there’s no doubt about it.”

Even so, Lenz expects “some push-back” from Canadian farmers on the draft modules.

“We spent a lot of time discussing some of them within our committee to try to make it work for the whole country,” he said. “It was very difficult because there are different provincial regulations that are involved, so we had to meet in the middle on some of them.”

“We’re trying to cover all crops and all parts of Canada, but we don’t know if we’ve got it right, which is why we have the consultations,” Miller added.

In-person town hall meetings were scuppered by the pandemic, but farm groups and crop commissions were consulted and now online consultations are being held. (The sustainable crops roundtable is also giving internet presentations on the code on Jan. 27-29 — go to www.responsiblegrain.ca for more info.)

Once that feedback has been compiled, it will go back to the code development committee so it can rework the modules if needed.

“That’s what the consultation is for — to get it out to the general farming public and make sure it makes sense to them, too,” said Lenz.

But the code won’t require major changes on farms, he added.

“Farmers are already doing a lot of what’s in this program. We’re already doing 90 to 95 per cent of the practices in it because they have an environmental or economic benefit to our farms.”

Lenz hopes a code of practice will “raise up that bottom five or 10 per cent of farmers who could maybe do a little better job.”

It’s also worthwhile for the grain sector to look and “ensure we’re all doing the best job possible,” he said.

“We’re pretty confident that we already are, but we can’t just keep talking about it amongst ourselves. We need a tool like this to send out to our customers and to the public.”

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Consultations begin next month on the proposed code, which covers practices such as fertilizer and pesticide use, and management of soil and water.

“The intent of the voluntary code of practice is to demonstrate farmers’ sustainable farming practices to aid in continual market access efforts and enhance public trust,” says the website of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Crops, the group developing the code.

The organization also says the code won’t require grain farmers to make big changes in the way they do things.

In one of the videos on its website (responsiblegrain.ca), Bentley-area farmer Jason Lenz (an Alberta Wheat director who sits on the committee developing the code) points to reduced tillage and how it reduces erosion, helps build soil organic matter, and lowers a farm’s carbon footprint.

Those environmental benefits are well known to producers, but it’s important the public and grain buyers know about them, too, Lenz says in the video.

“For the most part, we’ve been preaching to the choir on how we do things and why we do it,” he says.

However, the website says the code will also recommend practices to encourage “farmers go even further to both protect and improve the health of our environment.” The goal is to launch the code in spring, the roundtable says.

The first round of consultations will take place on the first three Thursdays in January. Producers can go to the Responsible Grain website to sign up for one of the 90-minute introductory sessions. There are seven modules of the code that farmers will be able to review and comment on. (In addition to fertilizer, pesticides, soil and water, there are modules on seed selection and use; land use and wildlife; and human health and wellness.)

“I really feel that producers should adopt the code of practice and pay attention to this responsible grade code,” Lenz says in the video.

“That’s not only for our families here in Canada, it’s for consumers around the world. We know that we’re responsible for feeding them but we’re also responsible for looking at the environment that, that food is grown in. We really have a great opportunity here to build public trust with consumers around the world who are really our customers.”

That view is echoed in another video of Adam Dyck of Warburtons, the privately owned British baker which buys spring wheat from more than 500 farmers in Manitoba and Saskatchewan under an identity-preserved program. (It is the U.K.’s largest baker with more than 18,000 grocers, shops and retailers selling its products.)

“We want consumers to feel really good about purchasing anything that includes Canadian grain,” he says in the video. “As a consumer-facing organization, we are challenged more and more by our retail customers (retailers) and consumers… We’re going to be able to use this tool internally within Warburtons, we’re going to be able to use it with our retail customers, and hopefully in time we’re going to be able to use it with consumers as well.”

The committee developing the code is a mix of farmers and reps from grain companies, a food processor, a food-services company, CropLife Canada, Ducks Unlimited Canada, and others. It is chaired by Ted Menzies, a former federal cabinet minister and CropLife CEO. There are several Albertans on the 18-member scientific committee, including Canola Council of Canada agronomist Greg Sekulic, Alberta Wheat/Barley agronomist Jeremy Boychyn, and Paul Watson of the Alberta Research and Extension Council, who oversees the Environmental Farm Plan in the province.

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“It’s basically on the idea level — we’ve done a little bit of work on what it could potentially look like, but it’s far from being developed yet,” said Jason Lenz, a former Alberta Barley chair and one of two Alberta farmers on an exploratory committee set up by the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Crops.

The ‘public trust’ committee is examining what a code of practice might look like when it comes to both general principles (such as protecting soil, air, and water quality) and specifics (such as guidelines for pesticide application and seed treatment).

Codes of practice have been developed for virtually every livestock sector, with a major emphasis on proper treatment of animals. But the Canadian cattle sector went well beyond that with the creation of certified sustainable beef, which covers environmental and social aspects of beef production.

The field crop code of practice will likely follow the model used by the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, said Lenz.

“The grain sector has learned from the livestock sector,” said the Bentley-area producer, who still sits on Alberta Barley’s board and is also a regional rep with Alberta Wheat.

“They’ve done a good job; the beef and pork guys in particular. We look at what the beef guys have done with the help of McDonald’s to get it done. We’re all happy McDonald’s stepped up like that. That’s the kind of level we’d like to get to on the grain side.”

The public trust committee has about 15 members from across the country, including farmers and industry reps from organizations such as CropLife Canada.

The group wants a code that will give consumers tangible evidence that producers are practising good stewardship and being socially responsible without creating an onerous process for farmers.

Again, the sustainable beef initiative is a model, said Lenz.

“They built that code of practice for their industry and it’s pretty robust and very comprehensive,” he said. “(But) it hasn’t been burdensome for producers in terms of paperwork or time commitment.”

Because the code will be voluntary, Lenz said the most progressive producers will likely be the first to sign up. In some countries in Europe, specialty canola producers have been verified on their production practices.

“I don’t know if we will ever get to the point of verification for some of that stuff,” said Lenz. “I guess never say never.”

The committee will be meeting this summer, either via conference calls or in face-to-face gatherings.

“It takes a lot of meeting and gathering to get it done and get it done right,” said Lenz. “We want to make sure a lot of people have input into this.

“Once it starts, I don’t think it will be long to actually have something in place. Whether that’s a year down the road or two years down the road, we feel that’s the right way to go.”

Committee members realize that creating a code of practice for sustainable crops carries different implications than creating one for a type of livestock. The goal is to create a code of practice that will work for any kind of field crop, including canola, wheat, barley, flax, pulses, and potatoes.

“I don’t think that will be hard to do because there are so many similarities in production practices,” said Lenz.

There are a lot of questions about the process and details to flesh out, but the goal is clear, he said.

“The code of practice is a way for us to have a tool in our back pocket to prove that what we’re doing is a safe way of growing food,” he said.

The effort was recently endorsed by the Grains Round Table, one of a number of ‘value chain’ roundtables that work with, and advise, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. That roundtable has nearly 60 members representing farm groups, industry, and government. Lenz is also a member of the Grains Round Table along with fellow Alberta producers Lynn Jacobson, Hannah Konschuh, and Jeff Nielsen.

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“End-users are looking to have a certified or verified supply chain that goes to the farm level,” said Kara Barnes, market development co-ordinator with the Alberta Barley Commission and a best practices specialist with the Barley Council of Canada.

“Just saying that we’re meeting sustainability criteria or indicators is no longer adequate. Customers want proof.”

That’s led to the creation of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Crops, a forum to advance, report and communicate the sustainability of grain production. The roundtable has been in the planning stages since spring, and will gear its efforts towards specific customers, such as retailers, food-service customers, and feed buyers.

• More from the Alberta Farmer: A new era of watchful food consumer

Each has different interests, said Barnes. Some want farm data that measures “sustainability indicators,” while others are looking for verifiable or certifiable programs which have some sort of mechanism for taking corrective action if the indicators aren’t met.

At present, the grain industry hasn’t decided on one way to prove sustainability.

“We came together in the roundtable to answer that question,” said Barnes. “It depends on what grain market you’re going into. There are grain markets, feed markets, and bioindustrial uses, and they will all have different demands from the end-users.”

The roundtable is looking at different sustainability principles and criteria to develop indicators, and is basing its approach on the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, which was started a year and a half ago, said Jason Lenz, the newly appointed vice-chair of the Alberta Barley Commission.

“Part of what it is about is defining what sustainability is going to mean to the crop sector,” said the Bentley-area producer.

“From my perspective, sustainability isn’t new to farmers. Farmers have been sustainable for a few generations… If you’re not sustainable in what you’re doing, whether it’s farming or any other business, you’re not going to be profitable and your business isn’t going to last very long.”

But tracking sustainability will likely mean a new way of record-keeping on the farm, said Lenz, adding he hopes it will be similar to documenting environmental farm plans, which involves an audit every few years.

“I hope it becomes more of a self-assessment for the individual farmer, with a list of indicators or common practices used in the crop industry, so people can make sure what they’re doing is sustainable,” he said.

There is one big difference between grain and livestock — you can’t put an ear tag on grain kernels, and Lenz, who also raises cattle and hogs, isn’t sure how traceability will continue once his crops hit the elevator.

There are a number of templates being developed to prove crop sustainability and six of these templates were presented at meetings in November, said Allison Ammeter, vice-president of the Alberta Pulse Growers and its rep on the Grain Growers of Canada.

Pulse Canada has spent several years working with the “Canadian Field Print initiative,” a Canadian sister to the model used by several large American companies such as General Mills. The Canola Council of Canada has examined the “Carbon Look-up,” while the Barley Council presented on the Feed Barley Pilot Project.

It’s possible that producers will need to record basic information such as fuel and water use on a year-to-year basis.

The Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Crops has a mandate, mission and vision, but not much more is known about the organization. Three key people who are chairing or steering the organization did not return calls for interviews.

The initial meeting in spring attracted about 60 attendees from almost every province, including federal agriculture officials and reps from companies such as Cargill, BASF, and Syngenta; millers; food retailers such as McCain Foods and Weston Foods; and the Canadian Grains Council. Among the producer groups were the Grain Growers of Canada, the Alberta Wheat Commission, and the Alberta Barley Commission.

Membership will be open to grower associations, value chain members, grain handlers and processors, food manufacturers, and non-governmental organizations. Members of the groups have already developed working committees, and terms of reference. Each working committee is in the process of developing work plans. The next meeting will likely be held in March.

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