Canadian Producers’ Factors and Barriers to Adoption of Beneficial Management Practices (BMP) and Trusted Information Sources - Executive Summary

Prepared by: Elemental Data Collection

Prepared for: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Registration Number: POR 138-23
PSPC Contract Number: CW2230184
Contract Value: $58,636.50, excluding HST
Award Date: 2024-03-23
Call up number: CW2353996
Delivery Date: May 2024
Fieldwork Dates: 2024-03-24 to 2024-05-01

For more information on this report, please contact Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada at aafc.info.aac@agr.gc.ca.

Ce rapport est aussi disponible en français

Canadian producers’ factors and barriers to adoption of beneficial management practices (BMP) and trusted information sources

Catalogue Number: A22-685/2-2024E-PDF
International Standard Book Number (ISBN): 978-0-660-72229-0
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Number: 13226E
Related publications (registration number: POR 138-23)  

The reproduction of this publication is permitted for personal or public non-commercial purposes. For all other uses, prior written permission must be obtained from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. For more information, please email aafc.info.aac@agr.gc.ca.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
1341 Baseline Road
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0C5
Canada
Phone: 1-855-773-0241
TTY: 613-773-2600
Email: aafc.info.aac@agr.gc.ca

Ce rapport est aussi disponible en français sous le titre : Facteurs et obstacles à l'adoption des pratiques de gestion bénéfiques (PGB) par les producteurs canadiens et sources d'information fiables

Catalogue Number: A22-685/2-2024F-PDF
International Standard Book Number (ISBN): 978-0-660-72231-3
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Number: 13226F
Related publications (registration number: POR 138-23)

© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, 2024

Executive summary

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) commissioned Elemental Data Collection to conduct quantitative research to collect data from Canadian farm producers to determine the beneficial management practices (BMP) being used and to better understand the trusted information sources they use. Phone interviews were collected in one wave from March 25, 2024, to May 1, 2024, with the final amount reaching 1,015 Canadians, 18 years of age and older.

The following sections outline the methodology used to conduct the study, including the research objectives, sample design and data collection procedures.

Background

This study gains insights that can be used by AAFC to encourage the adoption of BMPs among Canadian agricultural producers. BMPs are approaches or technologies with environmental benefits that can be used by agricultural producers on the farms they operate. Many BMPs store carbon or mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, while others offer other environmental benefits, such as supporting biodiversity or water and soil health.

This initiative is aligned with the goals of AAFC’s forthcoming Sustainable Agriculture Strategy (SAS). The SAS is a long-term plan that will help bring together action on priority environment and climate issues in the agriculture sector.

Research objectives

This research is intended to provide greater understanding of how and why Canadian agricultural producers use certain sources of information when adopting new on-farm practices.

Specific objectives of this research include, but are not limited to, providing AAFC with up-to-date data on producers’:

  1. Attitudes and behaviours with respect to the adoption of new practices on their farm;
  2. Trust of various organizations within the agriculture sector as information sources;
  3. Relationships and communication with other producers; and,
  4. Use of agrology services.

Through the collection of demographic data (region, commodity type, gender, age, ethnicity, income, and practice adoption history), this research will also provide segmented results for more targeted interventions.

Methodology summary

To meet the objectives, a phone study was completed with a sample of 1,015 agricultural producers across Canada, 18 years of age and older. The respondents had to be decision makers on their operations and also needed to have gross sales for their farm that were $10,000 or higher for the previous year. Phone surveys were collected from March 25 to May 1, 2024. Based on a sample of this size, the results can be considered accurate to within ±2.9%, 19 times out of 20.

A detailed description of the survey methodology is available under separate cover. This report contains all the information required to replicate this study in the future.

Contract Value

The total contract value of this research was $58,636.50, excluding HST.

Political Neutrality Statement

I hereby certify as a Representative of Elemental Data Collection that the deliverables fully comply with the Government of Canada political neutrality requirements outlined in the Communications Policy of the Government of Canada and Procedures for Planning and Contracting Public Opinion Research. Specifically, the deliverables do not include information on electoral voting intentions, political party preferences, standings with the electorate, or ratings of the performance of a political party or its leaders.

Darcy Zwetko

Darcy Zwetko
Partner
Elemental Data Collection Inc.