The province of Ontario Canada has vast farmland particularly in the south where general farming and livestock are extremely prevalent. Also Ontario is one of the largest producers of soy beans, shelled corn and mixed grains in the whole of North America. Many Ontario farmers realize that people are looking for healthy produce and that means green. So it probably comes as no surprise that farmers are now at the cutting edge of the green movement.
In the past, farmers have always had a battle with producing affordable food stocks as cheaply as they can and this has resulted in the use of sprays and chemicals to enhance the speedy growth of stocks and to keep them pest free. However nowadays, farmers in Ontario are waking up to the fact that more and more people are attuned to healthy/organic eating and as a result will pay that little extra for good quality food that has been organically farmed.
How easy is it to sustain a green farming program?
When you talk to anyone about going green, it is fairly easy to make a concerted effort to recycle, use non plastic grocery bags and to turn off lights when we go out of a room. However for farmers, the whole bar is raised as they have to question every part of their farming methods. Variations in the type of soil and the weather meant that a type of farming that worked really well a year ago may well be useless the next. In essence there is no simple written down instructions for producing the perfect organic crop and it all boils down to the farmer’s experience and how well they know the land.
Things to take into consideration when considering green farming are good crop rotation, buying or producing animal feed that contains no harmful or non organic substances, using only organic pesticides and good composting practices all have to come into play, if one is serious about green farming methods. It is clear that green farming takes around 3-4 years to set up, but once everything is in place it is most definitely sustainable.
In a way it makes sense that the very people who make their living off the land should be looking to protect it and this means growing crops or rearing livestock in a healthy and sustainable way. According to Forbes, studies in 2007 showed that around 61% of Canada’s population are either overweight or obese, so healthy eating is definitely high on the governments priority list Therefore it probably comes as no surprise that the government is in support and has recently pledged $27 million dollars to help farmers who are looking to go green.
The bottom line is that green farming isn’t easy, and a farmer really has to evaluate every aspect of their business. However once fully set up, a farmer has to take pride in the fact that they are helping to make their country a more healthy place and if that means us folks having to pay a few cents more for produce, then so be it.