The Importance of Agriculture to Everyday Life
Farmers have an unbelievable story to tell about how we are producing the most nutritious, safest, and lowest cost food supply in the history of mankind. Our success on the farm has allowed our entire population to have a longer average lifespan with the highest standard of living on the planet. Access to a safe and healthy food supply is the top reason why we are living longer today.
Sharing our experience as farmers is critical. Today, people are asking questions not only about our food safety but also food security and sustainability, which is understandable. It is important for us to communicate what we do on the farm and why and explain how it allows us to provide nutrition to our society, even through difficult times.
People want to learn, but modern agriculture is not easy to explain in quick sound bites. It may not always be easy for farmers to convey why they use the practices and products they do to produce a healthy and high-yielding crop. It is important for farmers to show their passion and share how we need to continue to access modern agricultural tools to supply a safe, affordable, and sustainable food supply going forward, not only for Canadians but also for our global community.
To provide information and support, Maizex Seeds launched Be Rooted, Be Involved. This initiative provides information on the technologies and practices we use in agriculture today, the role they play in the security of our food supply, and how important they are in terms of sustainable production and preserving our environment for future generations.
Did You Know…
Facts We Can All Share:
- It takes well over 10 years and hundreds of millions of dollars to register a GMO trait or pesticide on a global basis. Share the fact that farmers cannot use or even try any new seed-based technology until there is government approval based on years of extensive testing to protect human health and ensure environmental safety. These studies take years to conduct and take into account what happens in the water, soil, and food chain. Furthermore, in many provinces of Canada, you cannot apply a pesticide until certified through a grower pesticide training course.
- Reduced tillage and no-till farming are primary tools farmers can use to manage soil and water erosion. Keeping our soil in place is a critical part of a sustainable crop production system. This would not be possible without herbicides and seed treatments that are actually made from organic sources. Without these tools, farmers would need to rely more heavily on extensive tillage to ensure a safe, harvestable crop, which would compromise soil and water quality. Since the move to reduced tillage in growing regions including Western Canada, we have not witnessed the type of severe soil erosion that can result from drought and windy conditions as experienced in the ‘dust bowl years’ in the 1930s when modern production practices were not available.
- Seed treatments are used in crops like corn to protect the seed and seedling from soil-borne insects or diseases. Using a seed treatment reduces pesticide use by as much as 99%. This is because only the seed is treated—a combined area of roughly 2.3m2/ha (25 ft2/acre) in a corn field when compared to broadcast pesticide application using a sprayer that covers 10,000m2/Ha (43,560 ft2/acre).
- Farmers only use the technologies they need based on field scouting and their experience with each field on their farm. Companies like Maizex offer different combinations of seed treatments or traits, for example, to ensure that farmers only use the technologies they need to ensure a safe, harvestable crop. Farming today requires a great deal of expensive inputs to produce a high-yielding crop. Farmers are both environmentalists and economists, using only what they need based on, first, environmental and then, second, cost purposes. Crop input suppliers are also environmentally conscious, using practices such as crop scouting, soil tests, and 4R principles in fertility to recommend only the inputs needed and ensuring they are used at the right time in specific crops to minimize environmental impact.
Be rooted.
be involved.
Farmers have always been optimistic futurists, wanting to leave their farms in better shape for future generations. Farmers also understand they are the front line for environmental sustainability. It is unfortunate that, far too often, farmers have not been given credit for the practices that have been adopted, such as no-till and the use of cover crops for example, in the quest for environmental and operational sustainability. This is why Be Rooted, Be Involved and similar initiatives are important tools to help farmers communicate the many positive developments in farming when they are called upon to be advocates for our industry.