Nominations sought for dairy farm sustainability award

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

by SUSAN MANN

Dairy farmers using practices that protect the environment can once again apply for Dairy Farmers of Canada's Dairy Farm Sustainability Award.

Nominations are open until March 1, 2013 and farmers can nominate themselves or their fellow farmers. Forms, rules and information are available at: www.dairyfarmers.ca. To be eligible, nominees must have a current environmental farm plan developed under a provincial program and hold dairy quota.

Dairy Farmers spokesperson Therese Beaulieu says last year there were 14 nominations from across Canada. That was a very good participation rate for the first year of the award, she notes. But this year they "hope to have more" nominees.

Last year's winner was Anita Grenier and Rock Simard of Ferme M. Grenier et fils of Quebec. They were selected from among four finalists, one from each Canadian region - the western provinces, Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes.

The award recognizes dairy farmers who have adopted environmentally sustainable practices that are also financially viable, such as efficient energy use, greenhouse gas emission reductions or wise management of natural resources. The practices must also provide social benefits to Canadians and must be easily replicated on other farms.

Beaulieu says there has been some discussion to abandon the requirement of selecting one finalist from each Canadian region. That would be replaced with the selection of the top four nominees from among the applicants regardless of where they live. But for the 2013 award, there will still be one finalist from each region.

Beaulieu says they structured the award to have finalists from each of the four regions because the environment is so different across Canada and one of the award's objectives is to recognize practices that can be copied on other farms. "What works in the West might not work in the Maritimes, " she explains.

The winner will be selected from among the four finalists. That person receives $2,000, a trophy and a trip to receive the award in person at Dairy Farmers 2013 annual meeting in Toronto. The other finalists get $1,000 each and a trophy. BF