The reports are becoming more common and sound more urgent. The occurrence of severe weather events is on the rise.
In Canada, that can lead to invasive pests creeping into the Prairies. Glyphosate resistant weeds are making their way north and diseases such as aster yellows and clubroot are more likely to thrive in warmer, more humid conditions.
As well, we’ve witnessed more floods during the past few years, particularly in Manitoba, which further encouraged an increased flush of weeds and plant disease.
In the United States, farmers have just come through the biggest drought in 50 years.
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Most of the world’s scientists point to these as evidence that global climate change is starting to assert itself. While the proof won’t be in for years, severe weather extremes appear to be a factor that farmers will have to come to grips with.
These environmental challenges to crop production come at a time when farmers are being asked to increase production to feed an exploding world population.
The challenges are clear, but how we address them is a path that remains open.
One radical suggestion was raised at the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities recently. A resolution from the floor asked the group to lobby the government on crop insurance eligibility. It suggested that crop insurance coverage be refused in cases where a farmer grows two consecutive years of clubroot susceptible crops in the same field.
While farmers are generally constrained by what they can seed on rotation, there may be years in which high prices entice some to grow the same crops back-to-back on the same fields. Canola’s high prices of late may make such practices attractive.
But for the most part, farmers see proper rotations and sound agronomic practices as their best chance for long-term sustainable production and income.
The SARM resolution is unlikely to be successful, but similar ideas have been floated in other arenas.
During farm bill discussions in the U.S. this spring, the concept of tying farm insurance to certain farming practices was bandied about.
The argument goes that because insurance payouts will bear the brunt of the costs for bad agronomic practices, participation should be conditional on farmers adopting environmentally and agronomically sound practices.
The key question is whether such an approach would really work or even be desirable. Canadian farmers are among the most innovative already and have been quick to take up minimum tillage, the latest in plant genetics and other innovations that promote stewardship and boost productivity.
Farmers have been asked to do more and more on thinner margins and most of them are well aware of what is best for their particular circumstances. Their long-term and short-term survival depends on it.
They depend on the long-term health of the land for their livelihoods and understand the need to treat it well. They know they must respond to floods and new disease and weed pressures, or they won’t be in business for long.
Restricting insurance eligibility to those who use certain farming practices also runs the risk of distorting markets, where farmers grow what triggers the best payout rather than seeding what world demand calls for.
The issue of how to best ensure farmers manage the many challenges ahead is something all groups will have to wrestle with in the future.
Convincing farmers to adopt desirable practices is best done through positive incentives and assistance to empower them to make the necessary changes, rather than threats and punishments.
