The Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario: Integrating Christian Principles with the Practicality of Farming

This thesis examines the Christian identity and characteristics of the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario (CFFO), a general farm organization active in the diverse agricultural sector of Ontario, Canada. It highlights the intersection of religion and farming that emerged from interviews and participant observation within this group. The thesis probes what it means for them to be responsible Christian farmers in contemporary agriculture. Christian and secular scholars from three key areas of scholarship—Dutch immigration to Canada, agriculture of the middle or family farming, and Christian stewardship—help to contextualize their responses. The CFFO was founded as a Dutch neo-Calvinist organization within the sphere of agriculture in Ontario, based on the theology of sphere sovereignty. It has since grown to include members and leaders from many Christian denominations. In their advocacy for Christian principles in agriculture, the CFFO has turned to two important concepts commonly used in North America—family farming and stewardship—both tied to discussions of values and the broader impacts of agriculture. Family farming expresses the importance for them of owner-operated farms that support strong family and community relationships, as well as familiarity with and stewardship of the land, plants and animals being farmed. Fair competition and fair prices in the marketplace supports the vocation of farming as important work, worth doing well. Farmers’ ethic of Christian stewardship expresses their deep sense of responsibility to others through their work. The formulation of Christian stewardship within the CFFO is connected to but also distinct from other formulations of stewardship. The thesis argues that there is a spectrum of opinion within the CFFO on how best to put Christian stewardship into practice in contemporary farming. This extends between farmers who advocate imitating and maintaining the integrity of creation, and farmers who advocate developing and responsibly using creation

Legal Institutions of Farmland Succession: Implications for Sustainable Food Systems

The legal institutions relevant to farmland succession—defined as the transfer of property in and control over farmland—are increasingly important determinants of sustainable environmental outcomes on modern farms. The history of farmland succession has been written, by and large, through extra-legal processes of transfer and inheritance between generations of close family relations. This familiar “family farm” model, however, is rapidly being replaced by succession arrangements between non-relatives, often strangers, with entrant farmers from non-agricultural backgrounds. As a growing number of current farmers retire and seek creative ways to transfer control and ownership of their farms, the availability and content of property arrangements on farmlands acquire a new significance. The resulting “formalization” of farmland succession places greater demands on suitable to a wider diversity of needs, particularly among small farmers, and to consider the impacts of these arrangements for sustainable food systems over the longer term. Environmental degradation of farmland resources and surrounding ecosystems in Ontario, Canada—the focus of this study—and elsewhere is by now a well-established trend. This result, it seems, is aligned with the eroded perception that farmlands are no longer “natural” resources at all. As agricultural products are increasingly treated like any other mass-produced commodity, their sites of production are likewise distinguished from, and placed in opposition to, the natural environment. One feature of this dissociation between agriculture and the environment is that farmlands and food production are, as Wendell Berry describes, divorced from their historical contexts: To the extent that we participate in the industrial economy, we do not know the histories of our families or of our habits or of our meals. This is an economy, and in fact a culture, of the one-night stand. I had a good time,” says the industrial lover, “but don’t ask me my last name.” Just so, the industrial enter says to the svelte hog, “We’ll be together at breakfast. I don’t want to see you before then, and I won’t care to remember you afterwards.” In part, the new social, economic and political realities of farm production are now being constructed through the legal institutions and instruments that determine paths of farmland succession. Berry reminds us that attention to the way that these processes have been carried out in the past, as well s the ways in which they are changing, can help to reconnect food production with positive environmental outcomes, including reduced reliance on harmful pesticides and other chemical inputs, improved soil, air and water quality management, increased biodiversity, and a reduced threat of farmland loss. In this Essay, I argue that when farmland tenure for entrant farmers is made more secure, they will have better incentives to engage practices and investments that produce these environmental benefits, and they will have improved capacity to achieve this through access to land and credit markets. Part II of this Essay describes the modern socioeconomic context of farming in my case study of the province of Ontario in Canada and discusses the specific content of “environmental benefits” to which farmland tenure policies should be directed. Part III outlines briefly how farmland succession has evolved from the family farm model. Part IV develops an account of the legal institutions connecting farmland tenure security and positive environmental outcomes, which leads to an evaluation, in Part V, of environmental impacts of various land tenure arrangements available to parties to succession agreements. Finally, in Part VI, some of institutional conditions surrounding land tenure at the municipal level are discussed

Learning about place and the environment through school-based ecological monitoring in the Frenchman River Basin, Saskatchewan

Community-based ecosystem management (CBEM) is increasingly advocated as a way to conserve biodiversity, monitor, and maintain ecosystem functions in the context of local land use practices through an inclusive management approach. However, while CBEM is based in principles of inclusion, there is very little attention in environmental management and education literature directed to the role of youth in stewardship activities, and the environmental learning outcomes and other meanings that may result from these practices.The purpose of this thesis is to describe participatory and experiential environmental learning carried out in the Frenchman River Basin, Southwestern Saskatchewan. Here, I investigated how students’ participation in an ecological monitoring program contributed to their understanding of their local environment and to their sense of place, and considered how the development of a learning community among students, teachers, community members, and academic researchers influenced these processes.This research adopts a mixed methods approach, employing knowledge-based tests to explore student learning outcomes and using interpretations of place through student photographs and interviews to examine their sense of place. I take a phenomenological approach to defining what constitutes place for students, as well as how sense of place is formed for them, elucidating how their experiences participating in the ecological monitoring program entered the process of meaning construction.This case study found that both experiential and participatory approaches to learning helped foster environmental understanding as well as place appreciation and attachment. The Frenchman River, previously described as a taken-for-granted feature of the familiar landscape and largely associated with its agricultural importance, was re-negotiated as a social space, a place of play, learning, and biological significance. Research findings also suggest that place meanings are deeply rooted in students’ rural identity, and that this influenced their participant experience, independent of environmental learning outcomes. The creation of a learning community was a mobilizing force for school-based ecological monitoring and information sharing, while acting as a source of symbolic significance for student participants, helping students to see their place from the perspective of an outsider

Natural Resources, Local Development and Social Enterprise: Examining the Connection Between Sustainable Rural Development and the Social Economy in British Columbia and Alberta

One of the first steps in any research process is to undertake a thorough review of the existing literature in a particular area in order to understand the field of knowledge that is being drawn from and built upon. It is also important from an academic point of view to “map” the existing literature in order to situate the contributions of BALTA within the broader social economy field. This is one of three parallel literature reviews conducted in early 2007 for each of the 3 BALTA Social Economy Research Clusters (SERCs).BC-Alberta Social Economy Research Alliance (BALTA

SOCIAL AND ECOLOGICAL DIMENSIONS OF PRAIRIE CONSERVATION: LINKING RANCHERS, RANGELAND HEALTH AND ABUNDANCE FOR THREE GRASSLAND SONGBIRD SPECIES AT RISK

Temperate grasslands and the biodiversity they sustain are becoming increasingly imperilled. Habitat loss and degradation are considered primary causes of grassland species declines. Since livestock production is a dominant use of remaining temperate grassland, livestock producers and the grazing management decisions they make play a vital role in the recovery of grassland species. In this thesis, I examined social and ecological factors that drive habitat management and abundance of prairie wildlife species so as to contribute to conservation planning for prairie species at risk and their habitat. I focused on grassland songbirds because, of all prairie wildlife species, grassland birds have undergone some of the most dramatic declines in recent years. I employed an interdisciplinary approach, using theory and methodology from ornithology, rangeland management and the human dimension of conservation biology to achieve three objectives: i) to determine the extent to which indices of rangeland health explained variation in grassland songbird abundance for ten grassland bird species, including three species currently listed under Canada’s Species at Risk Act: Sprague’s pipit, McCown’s longspur and Chestnut-collared longspur; ii) to describe livestock producer characteristics, summarize producer awareness of and attitudes towards species at risk and the Canadian Species at Risk Act and evaluate how characteristics, awareness and attitudes affect producer willingness to engage in voluntary stewardship actions that support species at risk conservation; and iii) to explore relationships between select social and ecological factors and bird abundance for the three aforementioned grassland bird species at risk to elucidate novel pathways for achieving their conservation. I address the first objective in Chapter 2, where I identify the rangeland health index as a poor predictor of bird abundance and vegetation structure variables, such as litter and vegetation volume, as strong predictors of bird abundance. These findings make a case for further refining the rangeland health index as a tool for biodiversity assessment. In Chapter 3 I achieve the second objective and summarize producer characteristics, awareness and attitudes towards species. I also identify awareness, attitudes and rangeland management learning approach as important to producer willingness to support species at risk recovery. I accomplish the third objective in Chapter 4, where I present results of a structural equation model that upholds bird-habitat relationships identified in Chapter 2 and distinguishes management jurisdiction, size of land holdings and attitudes as important social factors to consider in conservation planning. Chapters 2 and 3 contribute to theory and methodology related to the ecological and social dimensions of grassland bird conservation, respectively. Chapter 4 demonstrates how structural equation models can be used to integrate social and ecological factors, and thereby inform habitat conservation and management. Both social and ecological data presented in this thesis make valuable contributions to producer engagement and habitat management aspects of conservation planning efforts for species at risk in the Milk River watershed of southwestern Saskatchewan. Overall, my findings point to the importance of a joint effort by regional private and public managers to use livestock grazing to create a mosaic of vegetation structure and habitat conditions suitable for the grassland bird community as a whole. This thesis provides a methodological approach that draws on and integrates social and ecological data, methods and concepts, thereby demonstrating how to conduct interdisciplinary research for biological conservation

Habitat selection by sympatric ungulates in an agricultural landscape : implications for disease transmission and human-wildlife conflict

As areas of agricultural production expand worldwide, complex zones of wildlife-agriculture interface present numerous benefits and challenges to farmers and wildlife managers. In western Canada, free-ranging elk (Cervus canadensis), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) make frequent use of cereal, oilseed, and pulse crops. However, cervid use of annual crops presents substantial socio-economic concerns for producers. Additionally, use of crops may facilitate cervids co-mingling and increase the risk of intra- and inter-specific transmission of chronic wasting disease (CWD). The purpose of my thesis research was to determine the key environmental factors influencing the selection of agricultural crops by elk, white-tailed deer, and mule deer, analyze overlap in species’ selection, and develop predictive models to identify the spatial distribution of crop damage risk. In this study, I analyzed 19,069 damage claims paid by Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation to Saskatchewan farmers for confirmed losses to annual crops (cereals, oilseeds, pulses) from 2000-2012 by elk, mule deer, and white-tailed deer. These data were used to conduct species-specific ecological niche factor analyses (ENFAs), which relate habitat variables within damaged sites to that of the surrounding landscape. The key habitat variables influencing selection of annual crops were then incorporated into resource selection probability function (RSPF) models. These models characterize and predict the probability of crop damage by elk, mule deer, and white-tailed deer, and each possible dual species combination. By integrating damage probability values and historical monetary values of regional crop production, I evaluated the risk of annual crop damage by each of the three species, and dual species combinations, across all sections of agricultural land in Saskatchewan. The ENFAs revealed that elk and white-tailed deer selected for areas where a high proportion of farmland is seeded to oats, barley, canola, and alfalfa, while avoiding areas farther from protected areas, with a high density of paved or unpaved roads and a high proportion of open grassland. Alternately, mule deer favoured open grasslands, shrublands, and areas with a greater density of streams or water bodies, while avoiding areas where a high proportion of farmland is seeded to oats, canola, flaxseed, wheat, and barley. Areas at highest risk for annual crop damage by elk bordered the northern edge of the study area; mule deer damage risk was highest in south-western and central Saskatchewan; while white-tailed deer damage risk was highest in north-eastern and north-central areas of the province. Identifying these specific associations between landscape variables, rates of crop damage, and associated species overlap may provide an important opportunity for agencies to develop cooperative management strategies to efficiently allocate mitigation resources. Efforts to prevent the selection of cereal, oilseed, and pulse crops by free ranging elk, mule deer, and white-tailed deer in Saskatchewan could prove to be a valuable step in not only minimizing crop damage and maintaining wildlife tolerance in rural communities, but also in managing the spread of chronic wasting disease throughout western Canada

Middle Parks: Development of State and Provincial Parks in the United States and Canada, 1890-1990

This dissertation is a comparative study of the development of state parks in the United States and provincial parks in Canada from 1890 to 1990. The study focuses on four park system cases studies: Pennsylvania and Idaho in the United States and Ontario and Alberta in Canada. This study relies on three main levels of comparison. Firstly, it compares the development of parks at the national level. Secondly, it compares the development of parks in the East and West. Thirdly, it compares the development of rural and urban/near-urban state and provincial parks. These comparative levels of analysis are aided by two primary methodological techniques. The first method is a timeline visualization of park development through time that relies on a colour-coded categorization system. Under this system, each park in each park system is mapped on the timelines based on the primary reason each piece of land was chosen. The eight categories are as follows: Education (Environment), Historical, Post-Agriculture, Post-Industry, Post-Timber, Preservation, Recreational, and Resource Extraction. This methodology is paired with an individual park case-study approach that illustrates how the patterns identified by the timelines affected individual parks, both socially and materially. In the first half of the century, all four park systems prioritized the acquisition of affordable land in rural regions. By the second half of the century, all four park systems had altered their park development priorities to accommodate geographic accessibility over economic viability. In both cases, preservation was not the primary objective of park development. The timelines demonstrate that preservation did not become a priority of any of the park systems until the 1980s. This study asserts that park history should look beyond park borders to the peripheries and greater regions in which each park lies in order to fully understand each park in its entirety and how each park relates to broader historical forces. This study shows that parks were not simply tools of preservation or recreation. Rather, forces that supported use of these parks and protection of these parks coexisted and were often one and the same

Economic Feasibility of a Wetland Certification Program in the Canadian Prairies

Wetland conservation remains a critical concern and challenge for policymakers and the agricultural community. Wetlands are being lost on private lands in the Canadian Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) in part due to the disconnect between the public benefits that accrue to society and the private costs that landowners incur for keeping wetlands. Policies implemented to date have had limited success at achieving wetland conservation goals. This thesis assesses the economic feasibility for a novel market-based instrument for wetland conservation in Canadian Prairies – a wetland certification scheme for agricultural products. We estimate consumer’s willingness-to-pay for a wetland certification scheme and compare the expected price premiums for producers to the costs of conserving wetlands. We designed and administered a stated preference survey to the general public in the three Canadian Prairie provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. The survey included a discrete choice experiment to elicit consumer’s willingness to pay for certified wheat flour produced on fields with restored wetlands. The choice data were analyzed using econometric models that address observed and unobserved preference heterogeneity. We estimate that consumers are willing to pay about 16%-40% more for wheat with a wetland certification label, suggesting potential market demand for a wetland certification scheme. Employing the random parameters and latent class logit models, we find substantial preference heterogeneity in consumer preferences. The price premium for wetland certification label was highest in Manitoba followed by Alberta and lowest in Saskatchewan. We translate the consumer price premiums into expected producer net returns and find that the benefits of adopting the wetland certification scheme outweigh the wetland restoration costs for a typical Saskatchewan field. The results of this thesis will assist policymakers and stakeholders in formulating efficient and sustainable wetland management policies

The Resilience of Governance Networks: Wildlife Health Management in Canada

Emerging diseases in Canada threaten the wellbeing of humans, domestic and farmed animals, as well as wildlife. Canada, like many nations, struggles to manage diseases that cross boundaries, both geographically and in species. This has led to a heavy reliance on governance networks to coordinate the knowledge and resources needed to develop management approaches. As governance networks often exist in an informal or ad hoc capacity and at the same time attempt to solve complex or expansive policy problems beyond the ability of any one agency, the issue of network resilience is examined to explore how networks and their membership can mitigate network failure. Through two case studies of wildlife disease incidents in Canada (Chronic wasting disease and White nose syndrome), I examine how the wildlife health network in Canada developed its disease management approaches as well as recommendations to provincial and federal governments. Using primary sources, I evaluate the network’s activities, attitudes and behaviours to assess if characteristics associated with resilience (slack in resources, adaptive capacity and situation awareness) are present and if they contribute to positive outcomes. Greater presence of resilient characteristics- slack in resources, adaptive capacity and situation awareness-were present in the case with better policy outcomes, however, the analysis reveals that the concept of resilience is limited as a useful tool when examined in the broader context. Governance networks are often limited by the structural constraints of their environment, including scarce resources and a lack of self-determination. In this network, an additional factors exists to complicate analysis: disease type and severity. The relative ease with which an emerging disease can be understood and management appears to contribute significantly to the network’s success

Ethical dimensions of sustainable development and urbanization : seminar papers

iii, 148 p. : ill