Sustainability is a word that’s used endlessly in farming and agriculture.
But few people can define what it means.
An American non-profit company is hoping to fix the fuzziness by spreading a global standard for sustainable agriculture.
Sometime next year, it will launch a program in Canada to certify production as sustainable.
“Our program is crop agnostic. It can be applied to any crop type that is grown,” said Kenny Fahey, president and chief executive of Leading Harvest, which announced its plans for Canada in late August.
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Buyers of ag commodities and food ingredients are already asking producers to become more sustainable by cutting pesticide use and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from farmland.
Such expectations are not going away.
“We believe our standard provides a pro-active response for the producer community,” Fahey added. “It does so in a way that’s flexible and adaptable, to work with different kinds of production systems. It’s not prescriptive or restrictive.”
Manulife Investment Management, Bonnefield Financial, Farm Credit Canada and McCain Foods support the Leading Harvest initiative in Canada.
“Leading Harvest is a game-changer. (It) has demonstrated certification can be applied across all crop types, geographies and management systems to provide assurance that operations are well rooted in best practices,” said Oliver Williams, global head of agricultural investments at Manulife Investment Management and a director with Leading Harvest.
“As we look forward to the launch of the Canadian program, we become one step closer to a single, comprehensive sustainability standard across the globe.”
The certification program has only been around for three years, but Leading Harvest already has traction in Australia and the U.S.
It has enrolled 1.3 million acres of farmland in Australia and about 1.6 million acres across 31 states in the U.S., Fahey said from his home in Seattle.
Leading Harvest was launched in 2020, after work by the Conservation Fund, a U.S. environmental group.
The Conservation Fund and other partners realized that sustainability metrics and scorecards for agriculture were complex and messy, which discouraged farmers from enrolling in such programs.
Something different was needed. So, they developed Leading Harvest and its Farmland Management Standard.
“(We) recognize that the outcomes we care most about — clean air and water, climate and resilient communities — are consistent, whether we are looking at a bushel of corn from Iowa or at wine grapes from California,” Larry Selzer, president and chief executive officer of the Conservation Fund, said in 2020.
The Leading Harvest announcement for Canada comes when farmers want more clarity around sustainability. The Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute recently surveyed producers about sustainable agriculture.
“One of the comments that came through loud and clear … is the U.S. lack of a common definition for sustainable farming… and it’s a barrier to progress,” said Tyler McCann, CAPI managing director.
The Leading Harvest standard is broader than environmental goals. It also focuses on local communities, farm employees and continual improvement.
Third party auditors are used to ensure that participants are meeting the standard.
However, farmers with a Leading Harvest certification probably won’t receive a price premium.
But there could be other advantages.
“We’re still developing what that’s going to look like. There might be payment streams… because of outcomes that can be verified by our program,” Fahey said. “(It) could look like a reduction in an interest rate from a lender…. I think it’s going to be a more complex story, rather than just a price premium.”
This fall, Leading Harvest will work with its Canadian partners to modify its American program and adapt it for Canada.
Once that’s done, they plan to launch the Canadian version of the Farmland Management Standard in 2024.
