Dear Editor:
There’s growing interest in local food and farm-to-table living. But it’s important to remember that Canadian growers are putting food on tables around the world. After all, the grain elevator is not the end customer. Growers play a crucial role in making sure both Canadian exports and domestic sales meet the requirements of our customers and their governments around the world.
Keep it Clean is a program that shows Canada’s commitment to delivering consistently superior agricultural products to markets around the world. It’s an established program started by the Canola Council of Canada and expanded with Cereals Canada to share best practices required for export-quality cereals and canola. Cereals Canada is coordinating with the Prairie Oat Growers Association and the Barley Council of Canada to extend reach to oat and barley growers. Now Pulse Canada is joining the program and all three organizations will be collaborating to better communicate with growers.
We’re working together to do the best job possible of sharing information on export and domestic sales requirements among the value chain, making the best use of the contributions provided by our funders. This collaborative approach will also help reinforce Canada’s reputation among our partners as a reliable supplier of safe, high quality grains and oilseeds.
Over 22 million tonnes of cereals, and over 90% of pulses and canola produced in Canada are exported every year. With many farmers growing all three commodities, the new partnership will make it easier for growers to find the relevant information for all of the crops they grow.
As headlines on pesticide residues, plant diseases and discontinued biotech varieties have shown, best practices have a ripple effect that travels around the world. Canada’s reputation, and the value of our crops, depends on consistently meeting customer requirements.
Because Canadian growers are following the Keep It Clean steps, we’re keeping the confidence of our export partners, and delivering more value to the farm gate and Canada’s economy overall.
-Canola Council
