Grain Roundtable spells out the reasons behind the sustainability drive.   Ottawa-The Responsible Grain initiative of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Crops (CRSC) has created some misunderstandings about its purpose. The CRSC has responded through its Chair Ted Menzies, a former farm leader and federal cabinet minister, with both a video and a written explanation of the plan. Its goal is to create a National Code of Practice for sustainable crop production that reflects the best modern agronomic practices, Menzies said. The Code “will be kept current and will be reviewed and updated on a regular basis, giving farmers the most current science-based information to optimize stewardship practices.” CRSC offers an online questionnaire for farmers to comment on the Code at https://responsiblegrain.ca/farmers/. In a recent newsletter, the Alberta Wheat Commission said, “The idea of a code makes sense, but this first draft raises several concerns and it is important that everyone engage in the consultation process to better understand what the implications are to your farm.” The concerns seem centre around Agriculture Canada's role in the code development. Menzies, who headed the Code development committee, said it was composed of four producers; one exporter; one miller/crusher; one input supplier; one food service company; one nongovernmental organization, one researcher/academic and one federal employee. “The addition of grain customers and others provided expertise that complemented that of the farmer members. The Code Committee operated through consensus and the resulting draft Code has agreement of all 11 members of the Committee and the Chair.” He said having the NGO representative provides “important outside credibility for sustainability claims made by Canadian agriculture.” Both the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef and the US Field to Market initiative included non-governmental participation in their development. Grain Growers of Canada, Canola Council of Canada, Cereals Canada, CropLife Canada and Fertilizer Canada provided funding for the Code development and with that support, CSRC was able to obtain matching funds from Agriculture Canada, through the Canadian Agriculture Policy (CAP) programming. Menzies said the Code “is being developed to proactively address sustainability issues that are of interest to the Canadian public, as well as respond to questions of consumers, both in Canada and in export markets. It's intended to highlight that Canadian grain farmers are responsible stewards of Canada's air, land and water. The intent is to also further build on Canada's reputation of providing high-quality food that is environmentally, socially and economically sustainable. Many of the required standards are already set out in various regulations that farmers currently follow or are common operating practices. Participation in the Code is voluntary and grain farmers will be provided with an assessment tool to assist them in identifying and assessing the practices as they relate to their farms. “Demonstration of environmental sustainability is becoming a question more frequently asked by customers, especially in high valued markets. A farmer led, voluntary Code will help address these questions without imposing significant costs and paperwork on farmers or exporters.” A national approach will provide “a consistent definition and measurement of sustainability. Demonstration of environmental sustainability is becoming a question more frequently asked by customers, especially in high valued markets.” The Code could also “help lessen the pressures for additional mandatory regulation. Activists are targeting agriculture. The absence of a farmer-led initiative could create an information vacuum where only the activists' voices are heard. Alex Binkley is a freelance journalist and writes for domestic and international publications about agriculture, food and transportation issues. He's also the author of two science fiction novels with more in the works.