Canadian farmers have been farming with people and the planet in mind for a long time. While previously known as ‘best management practices,’ ‘sustainability’ quickly became the word of choice when discussing farming practices that improve yield to feed a growing world and have limited impacts on the planet and future generations. And now there is a new kid on the block: regenerative agriculture. How do sustainability and regenerative agriculture relate to one another? How has sustainability in agriculture evolved over time? What are the challenges in farming sustainably, and what is needed to continue the increased adoption of sustainable practices across the country?

In today’s episode, host Crystal Mackay explores sustainability in agriculture with Tim Faveri, Vice President of Sustainability and Stakeholder Relations at Nutrien, and Chris Perry, Farmer and President of CKP Farms Ltd.

Chapters:00:00 Introduction guests and topic

02:40 Defining sustainability in agriculture

04:25 Defining regenerative agriculture

06:33 Innovative practices on CKP Farms

08:22 Progressing farming on the Perry Family Farm

09:40 Sequestering carbon through soil health

12:17 The Importance of collaboration in the agricultural industry

14:10 The role of data and technology in sustainability

15:14 Like and subscribe animation isn’t there

15:33 Barriers for farmers investing in regenerative agriculture

20:00 Tim’s motivation - incremental progress

22:50 Discussions across the value chain

23:50 The argument for the term Regenerative Agriculture

25:00 Chris’s motivation - thinking generationally

27:48 Advice for farmers - share your stories

Links:

Video: Carbon Markets 101 (Generate Canada - CANZA) https://youtu.be/wRY8hujkNMM?si=pyg9Fjy1MJp20IDeVideo: Explore Sustainability and Innovation at the Perry Family Farm in Chin, Alberta: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA-oBFxaDiYNutrien’s sustainability strategy: https://www.nutrien.com/sustainability/strategyVideo: Regenerative Agriculture on a Saskatchewan Farm (Canadian Food Focus) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nxsh5omTTyg

Credits:

Host: Crystal Mackay https://ca.linkedin.com/in/crystal-mackay-683b26a

Producers:

Meredith Martin https://twitter.com/meredithmartin and Cara Stern https://twitter.com/carastern

Production coordinator:

Rebecca Babcock https://ca.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-babcock

Music: Dustin Stern http://dustinspace.com

The Ag Podcast is produced by Generate Canada https://generatecanada.ca/ with support from Co-operators https://www.cooperators.ca/en/insurance/farm and the Smart Prosperity Institute https://institute.smartprosperity.ca/Questions or Comments? Reach out to us at info@canza.ca