Evidence of meeting #85 for Agriculture and Agri-Food in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was great.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Ted Falk Conservative Provencher, MB
I went to a reception probably three weeks ago, here in Parliament, and there was a soil scientist there. I asked him what he thought the biggest threat to our soils here in Canada was. What answer do you think he gave me?
Associate Professor, Natural Resource Sciences, As an Individual
I've no idea.
Associate Professor, Natural Resource Sciences, As an Individual
What's the biggest threat to our soil? I might say it's loss of organic matter, but that's driven largely by my personal experience. What did he say?
Conservative
Ted Falk Conservative Provencher, MB
He said that wind erosion is our biggest threat to soil conservation, so I'm wondering if you've had any experience with shelterbelts and whether you have any advice for the committee on shelterbelting our farmland.
Associate Professor, Natural Resource Sciences, As an Individual
Sure. I've had less experience with shelterbelting, but one thing that has turned out to be quite beneficial, not only for wind erosion and rain erosion but also in just providing more services in general, has been to plant strips with native habitat—for example, native prairie. That can serve as a shelterbelt. It can serve as habitat for pollinators. It can reduce wind erosion, runoff, and water erosion. They're having quite a lot of success with that in the United States Midwest.
Associate Professor, Natural Resource Sciences, As an Individual
I imagine it would be similar here with shelterbelts.
Conservative
Ted Falk Conservative Provencher, MB
Okay. Thank you, Ms. Bennett.
Mr. Michaud, you've heard my questions. Do you have any comments on any of those questions?
Soil and Water Conservation Scientist, Research and Development Institute for the Agri-environment
There was the question about mineral in manure. There may be two points out there.
First of all, there's the ratio. When we're dealing with organic manure, there's a lot of phosphorus out there. When we apply manure, we try to respond to nitrogen needs. The nitrogen-phosphorus ratio of the manure is lower than the crop needs, so we have a certain imbalance there. That's why I was commenting on those areas where we're getting very excessively phosphorus-rich soils. The interesting aspect would be to reduce that nitrogen-phosphorus ratio of manure through solid and liquid separation, especially for pig liquid manure. That's one aspect.
The other aspect, in fact, is that mineral fertilizer—phosphorus, for example—is applied at seeding, while most of the organic manure loadings are applied pre-seeding or in the fall, when it is subject to soil compaction and more prone to runoff. That's a big issue, I believe.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Pat Finnigan
Yes, we're a bit over.
It was a very interesting conversation.
This wraps up our first hour. I want to thank Monsieur Michaud and Madame Bennett for taking the time to be with us today.
We will break to change the panel. We shall return in two minutes.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Pat Finnigan
Welcome again to our second hour as we study climate change and water and soil conservation.
We have, in person, from East Prince Agri-Environment Association, Jason Webster, vice-chair—welcome, Mr. Webster—and also Gordon McKenna, board member. Wayne Easter talks very highly of what you're doing on the island.
Also, by video conference, we have Sean Smukler, assistant professor, junior chair of agriculture and environment at the University of B.C.
We'll start with an opening statement, and I'll give either of you up to seven minutes. I don't know if you want to split it.
Gordon McKenna Board Member, East Prince Agri-Environment Association
Thank you, honourable members.
As you said, my name is Gordon McKenna. I come from P.E.I. I'm a potato producer. Along with me is my colleague Jason Webster, who is also a potato producer.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Pat Finnigan
If I could interrupt you for a second, Mr. McKenna, you had a slide presentation. Unfortunately, it's in one language. If they want to look at the pictures, it's fine. It's okay.
Board Member, East Prince Agri-Environment Association
We were invited up here to tell you folks all about our East Prince Agri-Environment Association, which we formed about three years ago to build a more environmentally sustainable agriculture industry through evidence-based management practices that affect our environment.
We are 12 producers from the Prince County area of Prince Edward Island, and we're primarily potato producers. We're all located on the same rivershed. It's called the Dunk River watershed. We are there to share common interests in building a more environmentally and economically sustainable potato industry in that area.
How would we achieve this? We work with each other, researchers, government, industry, and the public to better understand how our agricultural practices are impacting the environment so we can make more informed management decisions.
Here's a picture of one of our many projects, working directly with the federal researchers. It is a willow tree project to mitigate greenhouse gases. It's very interesting.
Take it away, Jason.
Jason Webster Vice-Chair, East Prince Agri-Environment Association
Currently we're working on eight different projects with researchers from AAFC on Prince Edward Island and in Fredericton, and also a couple of different Prince Edward Island agriculture department officers and a professor from NSAC.
With regard to climate change and its impact on P.E.I.'s agriculture industry, some of the things we're seeing are more heat units available to the crops. We're seeing somewhat of a lengthened growing season, a change in our precipitation patterns, and a bit of an increase in our frost-free period.
What does this mean for our industry?
We see a possible opportunity to grow different crops that we may not have otherwise been able to grow in P.E.I. If we can keep research funding going to AAFC and other affiliates, we could use it to research these other crops that might be available to us.
Climate change could potentially result in a higher yield for some of our crops, based on longer growing days, especially for potatoes.
As agriculture producers, we would benefit greatly from increased research into the new varieties of existing crops and new crops that could prosper on P.E.I.
Also on climate change, we're seeing extended dry periods. These extended dry periods are certainly putting our potato crops at risk of low yields and low quality.
We're also seeing less frost during the winter months, which is not totally a bad thing in some respects. On the other hand, frost helps with our pest management system. Without the deep frosts, we're seeing an increase in insect pest populations, we're seeing an increase in some soil diseases, and we're also seeing increases now in weed populations.
We're looking to continue working with AAFC and others on partnerships on new water management strategies that are required and on some new things we can use to help the crops against new or greater pest populations. We also want to deal with the new pests and we want to work on improving storage management strategies.
We need information and data to improve our decision-making on when to irrigate, how much water to apply, and where to apply it, etc. Gordon and I are two of the 80% of growers in our group who do irrigate currently. There's definitely a need for research in proper irrigation on Prince Edward Island. There are different soil types. There are different areas of P.E.I. where irrigation has worked better than in others. There are different types of irrigation that can be used. We see this as a real opportunity on P.E.I. to work with AAFC to move forward on the irrigation file.
One thing we had in our presentation, although I don't have it to put in front of you, is that in the past several years in P.E.I. we have seen basically a flatline in potato yield increases, while other regions of the U.S. and parts of Canada are seeing a steady increase in their yields. That's one of the reasons we have formed this group, and we're trying to work closely with the AAFC researchers and get their boots on the ground with us in the fields so that we can build a good relationship with them, build the trust, and hopefully, when we get to the end of projects together, find the positives and negatives and pass them on to our fellow growers. Hopefully, with that trust built, those research initiatives will be used for the industry.
Go ahead, Gordie.
Board Member, East Prince Agri-Environment Association
Jason's mentioned that with climate change on the rise, it brings more challenges in managing our pest program.
Liberal
Board Member, East Prince Agri-Environment Association
Yes, there we go. Perfect.
Can you hear me better now?
Board Member, East Prince Agri-Environment Association
Excellent.
With climate change, in our pest management strategies it is becoming very much of a challenge to combat what I'm going to call an epidemic right now in Prince Edward Island to our potato industry. It is known as the wireworm.
One thing we all have to understand here is Bud the Spud is the breadwinner at home. The spud represents more than $1 billion worth of GDP to the Prince Edward Island economy annually, and wireworm is costing millions of dollars. We only have two tools in the tool box right now to manage wireworm; PMRA is looking at one of those right now, and it's not looking that promising. That will put the P.E.I. producers in a very vulnerable spot as far as managing this pest that came with climate change is concerned.
My ask to you is, through PMRA, to stay on top of the regulations and approval of the necessary management products and techniques required to deal with pests in an environmentally and economically viable way for producers.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Pat Finnigan
I'm going to have to end it here, Mr. McKenna. We're out of time, but you'll have a chance with the questions later on.
Board Member, East Prince Agri-Environment Association
Yes, I understand. Perfect.