What’s the most effective way to create innovation in agriculture?
Is it in top-down government objectives and strategies, along with penalties for non-compliance? Is it standards set by the food industry or non-governmental organizations?
In my experience in generating innovation on the farm I operate with my family, the answer is none of the above. The answer is to leave it to farmers.
Do we need research and development? Absolutely. Agriculture in Canada, and in most countries around the world, would be in a sorry state of affairs without the enormously important research into variety development, agronomy, business management, and so much more that our scientists and industry associates develop. That’s not what I mean when I say leave innovation to farmers.
No, what I mean is, as Norman Borlaug once so eloquently put it, “take it to the farmer.” Give us the technologies and products we need to grow sustainable, nutritious food and let us run with it. We have the incentives in place to leave things better than we found them.
Chrissy Wozniak and I discuss this and so much more in this podcast, hosted by North American Ag. Give it a listen! Find more of the great things North American Ag is doing here. If you want to read my original post that inspired this interview, you can find it here.
