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Agricultural Innovation Q & A WI TH W IT H T H E H O N O U R A B L E L AW R E N CE MACAULAY
Challenges and Innovation: Exploring Canada’s Agricultural Sector Mediaplanet chatted with the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and AgriFood in Canada, to learn about how Canada’s agricultural sector contributes to the economy and employment, what challenges the industry is facing, and the latest innovations in the field. What are the latest innovations in Canadian agriculture? How is Canada paving the way? Staying on the cutting edge with new technologies is key to strengthening Canada’s agriculture sector. We’re paving the way by investing in initiatives like the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP), a $3.5-billion program that supports innovation, sustainability, and trade across Canada’s agriculture sector, and our network of 14 living labs from coast to coast, which bring farmers and scientists together to develop new solutions and build climate resilience. Whether it’s using drones and GPS to boost crop yields or adopting renewable energy sources such as biogas and solar panels, these advancements are streamlining farming operations and making the sector more sustainable.
How does Canada’s agricultural sector contribute to the economy? Canada’s agricultural sector is a key economic driver. It creates job opportunities, supports local businesses, and is a key pillar of so many rural communities in our country. Last year, the sector added over
$143 billion to our economy, making up seven per cent of our GDP. We’ve also seen farmers’ revenues from agri-product sales grow 5.6 per cent, reaching a record-high $87.7 billion. As the world's fifth largest exporter of agri-food, our exports amounted to $92.8 billion last year, and demand for our high-quality products continues to grow. My goal is to continue boosting our exports, open new markets, and create more opportunities for our farmers.
What role do sustainable agricultural practices play in ensuring food security and mitigating the impacts of climate change? Consumers care about where their food comes from and the way it gets produced. By helping our farmers innovate and make their operations more sustainable, we can meet the demand for their products here in Canada and around the world. Over the last two years, we’ve invested $1.5 billion in programs to help our farmers reduce their on-farm emissions and grow their Read the full interview operations so we can continue to be a reliable supplier with Minister MacAulay at and leading exporter of world-class products like canola, innovatingcanada.ca. wheat, pulses, beef, and pork.
How a High-Tech Water Model is Future-Proofing Manitoba’s Farms, Soils and Grasslands Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association have partnered with technology firm Aquanty to put leading-edge water forecasting tech in the hands of Manitoba’s farmers.
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D.F. McCourt
he prairies are the heartland of Canada's food supply and home to so much of the nation's biodiversity. But this is not promised. Though the native grasslands of Manitoba have served as a bountiful ecological reservoir since before humans ever walked those fields, the advent of climate change and largescale market pressures mean today that the irreplaceable soil and the vital water resources that keep this landscape flourishing must now be carefully managed. As a farmer-led organization, Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association (MFGA) is extremely sensitive to the needs of those who rely on the land for their livelihood. But they also recognize that the economic pressures of our current reality do not always incentivize the practices that will keep Manitoba’s prairies healthy and productive for future generations.
It’s time for a whole system approach to agricultural resiliency and soil health “In 2018, we declared our position on regenerative agriculture, especially around soil-boosting practices such as armouring the soil, covering the land, and livestock grazing integration,” says MFGA Executive Director Duncan Morrison. “Regenerative agriculture aligns with natural areas. We want to help advance ecological goods and services, which are all those natural benefits
provided to society such as water, biodiversity, and carbon, while ensuring the ability for farmers to be profitable. We need to shift the paradigm into systems-based thinking from single-focus solutions.” There is nothing adversarial in this philosophy. Farmers and stakeholders want the same thing, sustainable land and a prosperous tomorrow. Thanks to funding from the AAFC and the Province of Manitoba, MFGA has partnered with Aquanty, a water resources science and technology firm in Waterloo, Ontario. Aquanty’s world-leading hydrogeological modelling platform provides never before available insight into the myriad of ways in which the health of Manitoba’s agriculture land revolves around water. “What the software does is simulate the movement of rainfall and snowmelt through the soil profile, over the land surface, through the river and stream channels, and through the groundwater system,” explains Aquanty Senior Scientist Steven Frey. “The technology's ability to simulate the integrated groundwater and surface water system gives us a much better ability to simulate water availability for crop growth. This is a leading-edge tool that helps farmers adapt their management practices in the face of more extreme climate. Nothing like this exists anywhere in the world other than Canada right now.”
Putting the highest tech solutions directly in the hands of farmers Aquanty and the MFGA have rolled out this forecasting technology — in the form of the MFGA Water Forecast Portal — for use across the Assiniboine River Basin of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and North Dakota as well as the Pembina River Watershed in the Red River Basin. The response from farmers has been overwhelmingly positive - including a landmark partnership with the Dairy Farmers of Manitoba. Many, of course, are still kicking the tires and considering how best to integrate this new technology into their decision making. It will be a learning process, but farmers are eager to learn. So too are conservation agencies, industry groups, and Indigenous communities. “When you don’t have water, you do have problems,” says Lawrence Knockaert, chair of the MFGA’s board, and a dairy farmer. “With the right focus and support, this tool can be a difference-maker around water and carbon by championing the natural areas and farmer-led soil management practices needed for our ag lands to prosper via profitability with added climatic resiliency and boosting the incredible values that our agricultural areas provide.” The flow of water is the key to understanding and protecting the magic locked in Manitoba’s soil. And now, for the first time, those who work that soil have the tools they need to make the Visit mfga.net to learn more about Manitoba’s farmer-led efforts strongest decisions for the future. around water and soil or hydrologic modeling at aquanty.com. This article was sponsored by Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association and Aquanty. Manitoba Association
Publisher: Anna Sibiga Strategic Account Director: Jessica Golyatov Content Strategy Manager: Nicole Kansakar Country Manager: Nina Theodorlis Production Lead: Michael Taylor Creative Lead: Kylie Armishaw Web Editor: Christina Morgan Digital Media Coordinator: Kristen Neals Digital Traffic Strategist: Karm Rathod All images are from Getty Images unless otherwise credited. This section was created by Mediaplanet and did not involve The National Post or its editorial departments. Send all inquiries to ca.editorial@mediaplanet.com.