Climate change is a cause of stress for farmers across the region. Agriclimat is a Quebec-based organization founded in 2017 with the goal to give farmers the tools they need “to effectively fight climate change, both individually and collectively,” according to the website. Since 2021, the organization has focused on adapting to climate change, as well as reducing the impact of farming upon it.
Ian Ward, of Les Jardins Glenelm, an organic vegetable farm in Elgin, is a representative for the Haut-Saint-Laurent syndicate of the Union des Producteurs Agricoles. He has been involved with an advisory committee for Agriclimat since 2017. With his experience in sustainability and consulting at the corporate level, his expertise has been valuable when addressing the realities and needs of farmers right now.
Ward explains that part of Agriclimat’s goal is creating an adaptation plan to help farmers. Each plan is specific to both the region a farmer is in, and the kind of farm they have. “It’s really inspiring stuff to see: the intersection between farming, the impacts, the potential solutions, and the potential for corrections – not just to be made to farming practices, but farming as part of the solution for addressing the climate crisis,” he says.
Agriclimat wanted growers on their advisory panel, so they could have an accurate depiction of how climate change affects each sector.
The organization presented its climate projections for 2035 and 2050 and asked how this would affect farmers. Ward explained that, from his perspective, “If things get hotter, if things get drier, the plants get more stressed. I’m going to have a harder time growing lettuces. They’re going to flower instead of just putting out leaves, and the lettuce gets bitter and it’s unsellable at that point. Same thing for bok choi; same thing for a ton of plants that we grow regularly, because we’re used to having a temperate climate.” This summer’s weather was close to what the predictions for 2035 look like.
For vegetable farmers, one of the challenges that they may face soon is water shortage. Many farms are currently relying on irrigation to water their crops during the dry summer months, especially after this past summer. That being said, Ward explains that irrigation, combined with wet spring and fall seasons, means that the growing season for vegetables will be elongated. Though this sounds great in theory, it’s not efficient – especially in the wetter seasons when trying to plant in puddles can hurt the soil.
Ward says that there was a committee discussion about what to do if the seasons get longer and farmers have the potential to grow different, longer-season varieties. “Everybody around the table was saying ‘No, you know what? We’re going to put a cover crop on instead.’ We’re going to make sure that our soil is protected and build up resiliency to the impacts that we’re going to see.” He was surprised to see that everyone agreed on the idea that right now, protecting the soil pre-emptively is more important than trying to grow another crop.
Ward explains that through this project, “We could reflect the experience of the farmers in the policy that’s being created, specifically in terms of adaptation plans. So that’s why we were being called, to inform the policy.” The Agriclimat website (agriclimat.ca) has a lot of information about the different adaptation plans per section per region. They’ve also posted resources sheets about climate change, and more information about the steps they are taking to help farmers in Quebec.