READY, AIM, FIRE

By Murray Sherk, CHAIR, DAIRY FARMERS OF ONTARIO AND BOARD MEMBER FOR REGION 8, OXFORD AND WATERLOO

I was at a national meeting recently discussing strategic planning and was reminded of the “Ready, Aim, Fire” approach to executing on strategy.

With this approach, the business pulls the trigger, taking its shot and then realizes it should have aimed. In other words, the business reacts before thinking everything through.

As I think about our collective target – our goal of reducing carbon emissions and achieving Net-Zero greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2050 – I think about our approach as individual farmers.

Ready

Although taking care of the environment is not new to dairy farming, the emphasis is only now being articulated. In the next few years, there will be a lot of “getting ready.” Educating ourselves by reviewing resources and best practices, as well as thinking, evaluating options and determining feasibility are the first steps.

Aim

What is the target on your farm? Determine realistic goals that work for your operation. Avoid the tendency to simply fire off by taking on a practice you’ve seen on another farm. Determine if it’s the best solution for you. Let’s develop plans that work for our individual farms, knowing it also helps the collective.

Fire

Begin executing on your plan and new approaches with timing that makes sense. Revaluate and adjust as necessary. In this issue, several farms are highlighted, providing just a few examples of what can be done. As you read, be curious and think about how some of these initiatives may work on your own farm. In the coming months, I look forward to the possibilities that will be identified and the stories we will all share to help the industry reach our target.

By Adam Petherick, 2ND VICE CHAIR, DAIRY FARMERS OF ONTARIO AND BOARD MEMBER FOR REGION 4, HASTINGS, LENNOX & ADDINGTON, NORTHUMBERLAND, AND PRINCE EDWARD; CHAIR, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

Sustainability is a hot topic in all aspects of business today, including food production. Canadians are strongly focused on how their food choices relate to either improving or degrading environmental sustainability. As dairy producers, we are uniquely positioned to capitalize on this scrutiny and expand into even more environmentally sustainable practices to become more profitable.

Our industry is rooted in practices that help meet national carbon reduction targets and which are beneficial to our bottom line. Inevitably, this makes our products more appealing to environmentally conscious consumers and pushes back against the false narratives challenging our industry. By simply expanding on practices that fit naturally into our business models, we are further cementing our place as an essential food sector and as leaders in emissions reduction.

Provincially and nationally, there is a coordinated effort to develop, expand and communicate practical, sustainable efforts. Consumers expect to be presented with data that is backed by science in the same way we want to know these management practices will help to improve our margins. The DFC environmental best management practices touched on throughout this issue are a good example of these efforts.

The way I see it, almost every time a farmer makes any adjustment to their operation in order to yield more milk per cow, the gains in efficiency generally contribute to sustainability. Emissions related to the production of one litre of Canadian milk are less than half the average global footprint of a litre of milk. In fact, our emissions from milk production are among the lowest in the world. What we need now is the ability to quantify those contributions in a routine way. That’s why we’re investing in a range of research including how predictive modeling technology can make tracking onfarm emissions easier.

We are fortunate to be able to approach this issue from a position of strength. Now is the time to position producers to reap the rewards of their sustainability efforts.

1. Livestock Management OPTIMIZING ANIMAL DIETS

Formulating diets with higher quality forages can enhance rumen fermentation to reduce methane emissions . Testing forage quality can help determine nutritional value, the palatability for cattle and optimize animal diets.