Science-based defence of farm practices isn’t necessarily enough to appease skeptical consumers, says Alberta farmer
By Jeffrey Carter
RIDGETOWN, Ont. — Farmers have little choice but to address the demands of consumers, says an Alberta farmer.
John Kolk, who farms near Picture Butte, said that may mean building a convincing argument in defence of legitimate agricultural practices or acknowledging the values consumers hold and bending to their demands.
Kolk said A&W’s hormone and steroid-free beef campaign is a good example.
“Beef producers were upset when A&W did this, but from A&W’s point of view, it was about branding. It wasn’t about you. And if Canadian producers won’t supply it, a U.S. or Australian producer will. For us to get upset probably isn’t very productive,” he told the Southwest Agricultural Conference in Ridgetown Jan. 6.
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“The fact you take care of your animals is not enough weight to win the argument.… You may not like that, but let’s get used to it.”
He said the millennials, who were born between 1980 and 2000, are helping drive the consumer trend. They are often driven by values more than by facts, he added.
“The social licence is about getting and keeping access to valuable business resources like markets, financing, talent, raw materials, technology, infrastructure and legal permits by winning acceptance and approval from consumers,” Kolk said.
“They expect us to make a profit, but they do not necessarily trust us to put principles before profit.”
He said farmers should work together to develop transparent relationships built on trust. That means being accurate, credible and clear about motivations and willing to disclose factual information about farming operations.
For instance, Kolk said farmers shouldn’t hide the fact that many of them are incorporating.
“The thing is, I’m a family farm, but I’m also a corporate farm, and I suspect many of you are in the same situation.”
He said it’s also important to use science-based practices, but science sometimes has limitations.
“Science is about the pursuit of answers, truth if you will. It’s not about the answers seeking the facts.”
Regardless, in today’s world, even legitimate scientific research does not necessarily represent the trump card.
Kolk said he’s gained a certain amount of creditability among hardened environmentalists because of the practices he uses on his farm.
Prominent among these is his family’s straw-bale home, which uses passive and active systems to achieve a zero-energy footprint.
He said genetically modified canola, chemical pesticides and irrigation are part of the business strategy on the 4,600 acre farm. He also co-operates with his brother, Leighton, who operates a 10,000-head feedlot, by making use of the manure.
The region receives an average of 280 millimetres of rainfall a year, which makes irrigation necessary for cropping. Kolk went to the added expense of using variable controls for his pivot system, along with solar panels at field corners to offset energy use.
The solar electricity sold to the grid is not a paying proposition at this point, but he said future regulatory changes and lower costs for installation make profitability a possibility in the future.
Kolk worked as a trade union representative before farming full time and has held several board positions over the years, including with the Alberta Economic Development Authority, Alberta Water Council and Oldman River working group.
