A provincial agricultural sustainability project is getting a 50 thousand dollar contribution from the Grand River Agricultural Society.
Doctor Gord Surgeoner says the money will help the Sustainable Farm & Food Plan initiative do a GAP analysis of existing sustainability plans.
He says they're hoping to be able to serve as a clearing house on agricultural sustainability to eliminate duplication and what farmers have to do to prove their operation's sustainability.
Doctor Surgeoner says the goal is a comprehensive program encompassing the whole farm, rather than a commodity-specific approach.
It's called the Sustainable Farm & Food Plan initiative.
The hoped-for result will be something that will be recognised by the food industry and consumers as confirmation of the sustainability of each farm operation.
Doctor Surgeoner says each commodity may have a few additional elements specific to their needs - but the overall program would remain the same for most of the province's farms.
He says the initiative will focus on what he calls the 3 P's of sustainability - profitability, people and planet.
While Doctor Surgeoner feels Ontario farmers have already done a great job in sustainability through the Environmental Farm Plan program, he says the industry has to go even further to meet the increasing demands from processors, retailers and consumers.
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Doctor Surgeoner says they want to build on the success of the Environmental Farm Plan program, focusing on what he calls the 3 P's - profitability, people and planet.
[audio mp3="http://blackburnnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/SURGEONER-Sust-1.mp3"][/audio]
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Doctor Surgeoner says they want to help minimize the paperwork and eliminate the redundancies in those plans wherever possible.
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Surgeoner says they hope to come up with a program which can define a sustainable farm overall, with a few additional elements to define sustainability in a specific commodity.
[audio mp3="http://blackburnnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/SURGEONER-Sust-3.mp3"][/audio]
