Is there such a thing as agriculture of the middle?
Some scientists and ag policy experts predict that a hybrid system — combining the best of organic and conventional ag practices — is the future of farming in North America.
Ralph Martin, Loblaw chair of sustainable food production at the University of Guelph in Ontario, has heard about the concept, but he’s not convinced it’s a great idea.
Martin said it would be fantastic if organic and conventional producers shared knowledge with each other.
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However, competition is a key aspect of innovation, which is why he wants organic agriculture to survive.
“I think it’s good that organic continue with certification and it be a separate system, with people in both systems fully aware that they should be paying attention to the other,” he said. “It’s good for conventional farmers to have organic farmers doing what they’re doing, because occasionally… they (organic producers) come across something interesting and useful that they wouldn’t otherwise realize… if everyone came to the middle.”
Martin said zero tillage is a good example of how farmers in the two systems can learn from each other. Conventional farmers popularized no-till 20 to 25 years ago and organic producers are now looking at the benefits of limited tillage to their operations.
Rene Van Acker, a University of Guelph plant scientist, said contemplating a hybrid crop production system is futile because farmers don’t control the future of agriculture.
Consumers will determine how producers farm in the future.
“The truth is, is that cities drive agriculture,” he said. “At the end of the day, it’s business and it’s a delivery of products to a customer. That’s all it is.”
Van Acker said agriculture awareness campaigns like Farmers Feed Cities have it backward. Urbanites shopping at Walmart or Costco hold the power in the relationship, not the farmer who provides the product.
“What the consumers want is what will happen. Whether that’s animal welfare issues or environmental issues in terms of pesticide use, for example,” he said. “Will it (the future) be a hybrid between organic and conventional? I don’t know. What does the consumer want?”
At the same time, farmers can’t abandon science and develop food production policies based on fads, Van Acker said.
“Having things science based is critically important. For example, if somebody said let’s just eliminate pesticides from agriculture, well, we can’t do that… that’s impossible.”
Instead of a scenario where producers move toward the middle, between organic and conventional, Van Acker envisions a food future with endless choice.
“Consumers want cheap options. They want expensive options. They want special and they want generic…. Agriculture will have to be increasingly diverse.”
