As the world deals with the impacts of climate change, agriculture is one sector that is feeling the pressure from government, food manufacturers, retailers and consumers to focus on greater sustainability. After all, the ability to adapt to the challenges of the changing climate directly impacts the availability of food for the global population.
For many farmers, however, sustainability was top of mind long before it was making headlines. That’s especially true in Ontario’s fruit and vegetable industry, where sustainable environmental practices such as plant and soil health — reducing energy, pesticide and fertilizer use — or managing water more responsibly, have long just been a part of doing business.
“Sustainability isn’t new for us. It’s part of our DNA as farmers and we’re always looking for new ways to be more efficient, reduce what we use and produce more with less,” says Jan VanderHout, a greenhouse grower from the Hamilton area and chair of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association’s (OFVGA) environment and conservation committee.
Ontario growers have made investments into better water use for irrigating field crops and adopting new technologies to reduce the amount of water needed to wash vegetables, for example. Greenhouse vegetable growers use a closed-loop recirculation system that continuously re-circulates and re-uses any water that plants don’t use.
Carbon capture technology in the greenhouse lets growers capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from their heating systems - instead of simply releasing it directly into the outside environment — and directly feed it back into the greenhouse to help their plants grow better and increase vegetable production.
To grow vegetables year-round, greenhouse growers need additional lighting in the winter months to supplement natural sunshine, so plants receive enough light to grow efficiently. Energy screens conserve the heat inside, reducing the amount of energy needed to heat the greenhouse, while transmitting sunlight through to the crops and keeping cold air out.
Particularly exciting for Vanderhout is the use of biological solutions instead of synthetic chemistry to control pests and diseases in the greenhouse, a tool his family’s greenhouse business first started using 30 years ago. That means managing insect pests, for example, with other insect species.
“It’s a progression that takes time to find the right mix of bugs and the right time to introduce them – and it’s not easier or cheaper (than using chemical controls) but we’re making the food that we’re eating that much more sustainable,” he says.
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