Farmers Go Green

By / Food / August 7th, 2013 / 2

According to a recent poll conducted by Ipsos Reid on behalf of BASF Canada Inc., nearly 100 per cent of Canadian farmers agree an environmentally-sustainable operation is important to them. The March 2013 herbicide resistance telephone poll included a sample of 500 farmers from Western and Eastern Canada with minimum acreage thresholds. “If you work in agriculture, these findings are not surprising,” says Joel Johnson, Herbicide Brand Manager for BASF Canada. “Farmers are in it for the long haul. And whether you’re the innovator, the producer or the consumer, considering the long-term impacts of your operations on the next generation is always top of mind.”

Last summer, BASF took to the streets with a film crew and asked average urban consumers for their perspectives on sustainable food production. Consumers were asked two questions: “What does sustainable food mean to you?” and “If you had one question for a farmer that grows your food what would it be?”

More than 120 responses were captured and of those, five consumers got the opportunity to tour a Canadian farm – in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario – and ask their questions first-hand. “I’m a third generation farmer with an 11-year-old son,” says Steve Twynstra, a grower from Ailsa Craig, ON. “That means we want to set up our land and maintain it in a way so hopefully my son, if he so chooses, will want to carry on the family tradition.” Twynstra spent a day on his farm with Gerry Johnston, a registered nurse from London, Ontario, where the two were able to share their perspectives.

Conversations like Twynstra’s and Johnston’s were captured for the BASF video series on topics related to the different elements of sustainable farming, including: Farming for the Next Generation, Feeding the World, Making a Living, Meeting Consumer Needs, and Managing Risk.

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