Rural Issue

Global farmers share similar concerns

The Global Farmer Roundtable in Des Moines, sponsored by the Global Farmer Network, features farmers from 14 countries discussing topics that bind them together as farmers.

At the top of their list of concerns is access to inputs, including capital availability, labor availability and land/rent prices. Balancing cost competitiveness with sustainability, product quality and consumer demands is also high on the list of concerns, as is the growing disconnect between farmers and consumers and the “social license to farm”.

We discussed those and other topics with two of the roundtable participants, Pedro Vigneau from Argentina and Jake Leguee from Canada.

 

Pedro Vigneau

Pedro is a fifth generation farmer in Bolίvar in the province of Buenos Aires in central Argentina. He operates his family farm with his mother and brother. The business started as a cattle ranch, then added crops for fodder and grain. He grows GM crops.

Pedro is a partner in an irrigated farm in Rio Negro and participates in a forestry trust of pine and eucalyptus trees in Gobernador Virasoro, Corrientes, in northern Argentina. Pedro is passionate about the benefits of no-till farming and the use of technology to protect the environment.

Pedro played a major role in 2008 during the conflict between Argentinian farmers and the government when the president of Argentina raised export taxes. He was also involved in the creation of Bioceres, a fully-integrated agricultural technology company.

AUDIO: Pedro Vigneau

 

Jake Leguee

Jake and his family farm about 12,000 acres in Saskatchewan, Canada. They grow GMO canola, wheat, durum, peas, GMO soybeans, flax and lentils. They were one of the first farms in the area to grow soybeans in 2010. They have been no-till farming for 20+ years.

Jake has been active as an agvocate. He has been featured in videos about why he chooses to grow GMOs and another about why he uses pesticides. He is active on his blog and social media talking about what he does on his farm and trying to explain agriculture to consumers.

Jake tells Brownfield one of his biggest concerns right now is renegotiation of NAFTA.  He says termination of the agreement would be “devastating” for Canadian farmers.

AUDIO: Jake Leguee