How do we Create a Sustainable
Agricultural System?

I think education is going to be paramount to creating a sustainable system. People, in general, didn't understand the why of farming practices. They look at something and think, "Oh, that is gross. That is disgusting. I don't want THAT on or in my food." And the response was to make it clean and effective with chemicals. Now the reaction is that consumers don't want chemicals on or in their food nor on their face. BUT, are they going to be willing to go back to gross and disgusting, or do we need something new?

Right now if you do not use chemicals, you are going to have bugs. Take for example fruit trees. They will have worms on the fruit, things like that. Mans technology has replaced a lot of that "inconvenience" and I still think it is for all intents and purposes, safe for human consumption, otherwise the governments wouldn't allow it, I would think.

The bottom line is this, you can only modify genetics to a certain point. You can only put so many pounds of meat on that frame. You can only produce so many bushels per acre. We are coming to a point where, I believe (I am not a scientist) genetics play a big role, and how far do you push it before it becomes unsustainable? Take grass fed cattle, for instance. It is good beef, but it takes longer to raise because the animal is on the grass longer instead of in a feedlot. And again, you know, you can't produce as much as in a feedlot. That in itself is a setback in terms of the volume of production. It takes longer. It takes nearly a year to put up grass cattle, whereas in a feedlot, you can produce that steer into a fat animal within a few months. That affects a lot of things including price. So there's going to be a lot of changes. There has to be.

Surviving is your highest return of all. Everyone has to survive going through this change. I don't know what that is going to look like but I do know that it really starts at the farm gate. Ranchers and farmers will produce what the public wants. They are willing to do whatever the public wants..

But, what they don't realize is.. What they really want, is what they pay for...

They say they don't want chemicals, that they want the birds and the bees, but if you walked into a grocery store and there were bugs all over the fruits and vegetables, people would lose their appetite and never go in there again. So I agree that farmers will produce what people are willing to pay for. And people have to understand that where their money goes is of epic importance. Consumers demand secure and safe access to food supply. The risk to food production is working on the wrong thing. This new challenge needs clear awareness not fresh thinking before you try something new and innovative.

Where do people get a real education so that they're not just watching Netflix films that are made for exaggeration and to prove one person's point? How do they get the facts?

Maybe it is time for farm visits? See the calves playing in the fields, look at the wheat crop standing tall, golden and ready for harvest. And YES, fresh wholesome milk does come from a cow not a grocery store.

I look forward to next week when I'll be talking about Something Else!

Fred Mertz
Fred@thevoiceofagriculture.ca