Seeking singles, carbon counting and seeding in wartime

Executive producers Erin Haskett and Jean Parsons of Vancouver’s Lark Productions tell us about their casting call for single B.C. farmers to take part in their new CTV reality series Farming for Love. Also: Lisa Guenther talks to Kimberly Cornish of the Food Water Wellness Foundation about its soil carbon quantification project, gauging just how much organic carbon farm and ranch practices are putting back into the soil on a farm-by-farm basis. And Laura Rance of Glacier FarmMedia considers pressures that the war in Ukraine will place on farmers everywhere else in the world. Hosted by Dave Bedard.

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Dave Bedard: [00:00:05] Hi and welcome to Between the Rows. My name is Dave and I’ll be your host. Today we’re starting off with a look at an upcoming network, reality TV show that’s planning to help single people find suitable partners, not at some tropical island resort or Hollywood studio backlot, but in the fields and pastures of British Columbia.

Erin Haskett: [00:00:25] Even though it is casting for farmers in British Columbia, it really will be a series that will reflect Canadians from across the country.

Dave Bedard: [00:00:34] Also, we hear a lot about how certain farming practices can support carbon sequestration in the soil. But an Alberta organization is digging deep with farmers and ranchers to sort out just how much is being stored and just how much their practices are putting away.

Kimberly Cornish: [00:00:48] Yes, there’s a lot of carbon down there. There’s carbon that could be potentially lost. And there’s also potential to sequester more at depth, which would make it more stable in the future and more of a climate solution.

Dave Bedard: [00:01:00] And Laura Rance are VP content for Glacier Farm Media is considering the effects of the war in Ukraine and the choices that farmers and the rest of the world have to soon make, including choices about what not to do.

Laura Rance: [00:01:12] The path to increase production elsewhere, to make up for what’s being lost is fraught with complications.

Dave Bedard: [00:01:18] All that’s coming up on Between the Rows right after a few words from this week’s sponsor.

Commercial: [00:01:23] AGI West Steel manufactures the highest quality galvanized grain bins on the market. With over a century of experience our quality designs and storage options. Deliver the right solution to suit your needs. Visit Aggrowth.com/weststeel for more information. That’s Aggrowth.com/weststeel.

Dave Bedard: [00:01:54] That’s from the opening of L’Amour est dans le pre, the reality TV show, which helps connect single farmers in Quebec and eastern Ontario with potential partners. During its run so far, to show reports to have connected at least 15 couples and led to the development of 27 farm kids. The shows already got a call out for farmers to take part in its 11th season on Bell Media’s NUVO Network this spring, however, Bell Media is taking that franchise way out west to British Columbia in the form of a new English language series to be called Farming for Love. On the line, we have co-executive producers Erin Haskett and Jean Parsons from Lark Productions in Vancouver, who are developing the new show for CTV and have a deadline for applications from interested farmers coming up pretty quick. Erin Jean Hi and welcome to Between the Rows.

Erin/Jean: [00:02:44] Hi, Dave. Nice to meet you. Thanks for having us. Thanks for having us. Nice to be here.

Dave Bedard: [00:02:49] Great. Great to have you here. Now, as with most of the concepts for the reality shows, we all know this one started in Britain years and years ago with a show called The Farmer Wants a Wife. A few years back I had Martin Metivier on this show, and I’ve got to admit, I did wonder at the time why nobody had picked up on that concept yet for The ROC, you know, the rest of Canada market. What can you tell us about that?

Erin Haskett: [00:03:12] Well, I do know that a lot of people have been talking about this format in English, Canada, in many parts of the world for some time now, and I think just is all about timing. I know Bell and CTV are really excited, as are the whole team at Lark, to be a part of the English Canada version. And even though it is, we’re casting for farmers in British Columbia, it really will be a series that will reflect Canadians from across the country.

Dave Bedard: [00:03:40] Mm hmm. And of course, in the meantime, of course, there’s also you know, the also complicating matters has been the pandemic in terms of socializing as we know it. But in your favor for a series like this. You know, the data has also shown that that it seems to have driven somewhat of a shift in in where people in Canada want to live. Do you think that might be helpful at all?

Jean Parsons: [00:04:02] Yeah, absolutely. You know, I think a lot of us are thinking about our urban lives here in the city and daydreaming about a simpler life out in the country. And, you know, this show definitely aims to celebrate that lifestyle. You know, no farmers, no food. We’re going to take place on some very beautiful, stunning B.C. landscapes. So, yeah, absolutely. I definitely think that’s a draw to the show.

Dave Bedard: [00:04:28] Mm hmm. Now, your deadline for applications is coming up April 15th. What can you tell us about what you’re looking for in potential applicants?

Jean Parsons: [00:04:37] For sure. So as Erin mentioned, you know, this is going to be filmed in B.C. for the first go around. So we are looking for B.C. based farmers. Now, the daters at a later phase will come from across the country so that we get representation from across Canada. But we are looking for B.C. farmers that really, I think, modernize the image of the farmer in the minds of Canadians. We’d love to show all different kinds of diversity, you know, ages, backgrounds, genders and really also unexpected kinds of farms as well. We’re interested to meet beekeepers, artisanal cheese producers, folks who work at wineries, flower farmers and of course, intent and hopes to have more traditional farmers as well, like cattle ranchers and wheat growers. But we’re really looking to celebrate all different kinds of diversity that B.C. has to offer in the agricultural community.

Dave Bedard: [00:05:37] Now, will you be will you be going up to the peace region way up north as well, or are you mostly sticking kind of to the to the to the southern to southern B.C. and the interior?

Jean Parsons: [00:05:45] We’re looking all across B.C. right now.

Dave Bedard: [00:05:47] Okay. Now, you know, once you’ve got your applicants together, though, I mean, you’ve still got to put together a good TV show. So. So what do you think in general terms you’ll be looking for in your final five?

Jean Parsons: [00:05:58] I think something that’s really important with this series is authenticity. You know, when you look at the format as produced in other territories and it has been made in 32 countries around the world, globally, it’s accounted for 191 marriages, 444 babies. You know, it really works. It does build lasting love connections. And I think that comes down to the authenticity. So one thing that’s really important for us is that the farmers are single. They’re genuinely looking for love. They’re ready to settle down, you know, someone who is at the right place and time in their life that they want to get married, they want to find their forever person.

Dave Bedard: [00:06:39] Mm hmm. Now, the search for potential partners for your for your chosen five farmers does it? That only begins, I’m assuming, once you’ve picked your five.

Jean Parsons: [00:06:49] That’s correct. Yes, that’s correct. We will be first casting our farmers, getting to know them what they’re looking for, and then we’ll begin the data casting process to find the right candidates for them. And actually, the daters pardon me, the farmers will be involved in choosing which daters end up on their farms.

Dave Bedard: [00:07:07] Okay. And again, now, do they do the the people who the candidates for after the farmers are chosen your candidates after that, with these strictly coming from urban settings or just anywhere and pretty much anywhere in Canada at all.

Jean Parsons: [00:07:23] We’ll be looking right across Canada. You know, I think it would be very interesting to have some urban singles for sure, to see how they handle the farming lifestyle. But it’s not. It’s not a strict consideration.

Dave Bedard: [00:07:36] Mm hmm. So now I suspect I know some of the reasons for this. You know, apart from the obvious, I mean, you’re based there, but why? Why? British Columbia specifically.

Erin Haskins: [00:07:45] I could speak to that. I mean, I think one of the things obviously yes, of course, we’re based here, but I think what we really love is that we can celebrate B.C. You know, there’s we can film against the backdrop of stunning B.C. landscapes, from the Okanagan to the coastline to the Rocky Mountain valleys that really I really think all across Canada or parts of the world maybe don’t know our landscape in the way that I think this show will be able to celebrate and and show us. Ideally, the series will be able to if we have the same success that the French-Canadian series has had, will be able to travel a little bit more across the country. But we thought starting out west is a is a great way to show such a picturesque version of farming for love.

Dave Bedard: [00:08:29] And in the in the future, it was like assuming this, assuming this, the show, this the the English language franchise continues. You know, are you looking at maybe maybe expanding this to to other parts of the country as well?

Jean Parsons: [00:08:42] Or I think we’re all hoping for a successful season one. And the goal would be to be able to ideally explore more communities and regions from across the country as the show progresses.

Dave Bedard: [00:08:54] Now, you know, from what I’ve seen of L’Amour est dans le pre, it seems to be like a, you know, a pretty common, levelheaded approach to, you know, to farming in the farm setting. You know, obviously, though, there’s there’s going to be some sort of inherent tension. You know, in many ways, that’s sort of a key point of a show like this. I guess there’s the implied premise that because a farmer is looking for a partner, it’s not geographically or demographically easy for farmers to find love. And you know that the business of the business, rather, and the work of farming itself isn’t necessarily isn’t particularly romantic. I mean, that’s not just implied. That’s that’s undeniably true for many, you know. But on the other hand, there is that sort of romanticized or nostalgic notion of farming. And obviously, you know, as we’ve discovered since the pandemic, perhaps even more so now there’s a real intangible desirability for certain aspects of rural living, you know, so there has to be some sort of tension, I’m assuming, between the two in order to make this work.

Jean Parsons: [00:09:51] Yeah, I think that the series really does. On the one hand, as you’re saying, showcase the beauty of this rural lifestyle. You know, we’re going to be able to go to, as Erin mentioned, so many stunning places across B.C. and really showcase what those landscapes and those communities have to offer. But of course, on the other hand, farming is really hard work. And so it will be very interesting to see how the daters is stack up when it comes to the day to day farm chores that they’re going to have to participate in.

Dave Bedard: [00:10:22] Mm hmm. You know, I mean, in my own case, I’m in journalism, you know, for a living, you know? So one would think I’d be all about, you know, sort of the straight up documentary realism, you know? Yep. Let’s go straight to the manure pile. But I mean, you know, speaking for myself personally, though, I mean, I know anytime I’ve been to B.C. Wine Country, you know, my first impulse is to take pictures of how fricking gorgeous it is. You know, I mean, how do you how do you square that for a show like this? I mean, I know I’d find it tough to do. I mean, do you do you to personally sort of see yourselves teetering more toward one end of that whole spectrum of the other sort of cinema verite or sort of the the just sort of face with kind of this stunning geography that you’ve got in front of you.

Erin Haskett: [00:11:01] I think that is when you look at some of the versions of the series internationally, it is sort of a combination of the beauty and the picturesque landscapes, but the sort of real, as Jean said, authentic, true relationship connection that I think really is what draws viewers to it. So you’re sort of captivated by the views and the landscape, but it really is, as you said, the tension between is this a choice, a life choice someone can make? And are these connections real? And and I really do believe that the success of this show is based on its romance and heartwarming connections as much as anything else.

Dave Bedard: [00:11:45] So and Jean, what about what about from your angle, is there a you know, is there sort of one, one, one sort of way that you sort of find yourself teetering more than the other?

Jean Parsons: [00:11:54] No. I mean, I think Erin summed it up well. You know, I think that the root of this show really is its authenticity. And it does provide a real immersive documentary, look into farm life and the realities of day to day life on all different kinds of farms. And so we’re certainly not going to shy away from showcasing that. But part of that truth is also the beauty of the lifestyle.

Dave Bedard: [00:12:20] I mean, in any case, you’ve you’ve both got a tough job ahead of you. And I’m really looking forward to seeing the result. You know, one last thing, though. You know, if if this all goes according to plan, when when is this show expected to actually be on the air?

Erin Haskett: [00:12:31] That’s a date we’ll have to get back to you on. I think so much of this depends on where at the very beginning stages of casting and once we cast, it really is about delivering a show that I know CTV has has really high hopes for the series and they’ll have a plan for that to come in the year ahead.

Dave Bedard: [00:12:52] And is there anything that that at this point now that you’ve had a few applications coming in, that that that you’d like people to know if they’re if they’re thinking about applying with about with about maybe a week or so to go. By the time this podcast goes to air.

Erin Haskett: [00:13:05] I would just really encourage people to get out there and to apply. As you mentioned, there’s only about a couple of weeks left for applications and we are excited to meet farmers from across the province and get to know their stories. So I would just encourage people to get their applications in. And yeah, as I said, you know, the core thing is to be truly looking for an authentic love connection and be ready for that at this point in their life. That’s really key.

Dave Bedard: [00:13:34] Mm hmm. And again.

Erin Haskett: [00:13:36] Sorry, Dave, just to add to that, what I would also say is, I think really what we want is we want to cast farmers and daters from all backgrounds to sort of represent the diversity that our country has to offer. And so we really would encourage everyone and all versions of farmers to come to us and explore this opportunity.

Dave Bedard: [00:13:57] That was the one interesting thing I found when I was looking at the opening for season ten of L’Amour est dans le pre was, you know, they have a there was a 26 year old woman, a 53 year old man actually from eastern from eastern Ontario. There was a 2 20 something gentleman and a 31 year old. And one of those, I believe, was looking for a for a same sex partner as well. So, again, it’s it’s a it’s sort of a it seems to be kind of a very different mix sort of across the board.

Erin Haskett: [00:14:24] Absolutely. And that’s what excites us about it, too. Well, we’ll.

Dave Bedard: [00:14:27] Look forward to seeing the final results. Certainly. Thank you. Thank you so much to both of you for your time today.

Erin Haskett / Jean Parsons: [00:14:32] Thank you. It’s nice to be here. Thanks for having me. Thanks so much for having us.

Dave Bedard: [00:14:36] Erin Hassett and Jean Parsons are with Lark Productions and the executive producers of the TV series Farming for Love Now Seeking Farmers. If you’re looking to apply, check out more.ctv.ca/ctc/farming-for-love-casting.html. You’re listening to Between the Rows. I’m your host this week, Dave Bedard. There’s a lot of discussion these days about carbon sequestration that is taking excess carbon out of the air we breathe and sticking it into the ground that we walk on. Now, for farmers and ranchers, of course, carbon is also the main driver of soil fertility. So knowing just how much is down there and what’s really needed to improve that soil carbon profile, now that would be valuable information, to say the very least. Right now you’re going to hear Canadian Cattlemen magazine editor Lisa Guenther talking to Kimberly CORNISH, executive director of the Food Water Wellness Foundation in Alberta, about its soil carbon quantification project. Let’s have a listen.

Lisa Guenther: [00:15:53] And just tell us about yourself, Kimberly. 

Kimberly Cornish: I’m executive director of Food Water Wellness Foundation. We’re a not for profit based in Alberta, working on soil carbon quantification and the scaling of regenerative agricultural practices and environmentally sustainable and agricultural practices. And so tell us a little bit about the pilot project you’ve been working on in Alberta. We’ve been now since 2019, working on a pilot project to on 15 farms and ranches across Alberta through different climates, representing the climate variability and the temperature variability. And mostly most of the farms are ranch or ranch or grassland type operations. But we’ve been looking at the carbon on those as a baseline at this point in relationship to neighboring cropland and also looking at different practices of different management on on the carbon levels. And so we’ve completed our first round of sampling and have developed a baseline map for been able to extrapolate the data to do a provincial scale baseline map at 30 meters resolution. And then we’re just about head out ready to head back into the field for a second round of sampling. 

Lisa Guenther: And I mean, I know it’s going to vary a lot between different regions and with different there’s so many variables. But what are some of the highlights of what you found so far? 

Kimberly Cornish: One of the major findings is that 55% of the carbon in Alberta in the soil is actually deeper than 30 centimeters, which is is exciting because there’s a lot of there’s been a lot of speculation about is is it worthwhile measuring and is it worthwhile looking at carbon sequestration at depth? And and I think we’re finding that, yes, there’s a lot of carbon down there. There’s carbon that could be potentially lost. And there’s also potential to sequester more at depth, which would make it more stable in the future and more of a climate solution. 

Lisa Guenther: And you’re also finding some interesting things regarding soil organic matter. There’s kind of been an ongoing discussion for quite a while on how long it actually takes to build soil organic matter. So just tell us a bit about that. 

Kimberly Cornish: Yeah, we’ve been working on farms that have shifted their organic matter in in a matter of anywhere from five to to 20 years. But it’s it’s gone up in percentage levels and or like in percentages. And that was people kind of used to think always you’ve got what you’ve got, and that’s the end of the story. But as we’re seeing, like good grazing practices and good integration of, of, of perennial cover and just like diversity and extending the green growing roots, I think some of those practices are starting to show, especially when they’re done well together, that there’s more carbon actually being allocated below ground and stabilized within soil. Soil aggregates that make it instead of being part of the labor pool that just comes in and out every year, it actually slows it down into like a ten year kind of cycle. But if that is every year on year, if there’s still more carbon being. Going into the soil, then there’s more that organic matter can really build. 

Lisa Guenther: And from what I understand, you’re trying some different ways of actually measuring that carbon. So if you could just tell us a little bit about that as well. 

Kimberly Cornish: So yeah, so we’re using we’re using a couple of technology technology innovations. So one is we’re doing our sampling plans through a Latin hypercube sampling design. So it takes 60 layers of data and helps inform where we’re going to take those samples so that we can extrapolate the data better and reduce the number of samples we need because we have all this other layers of data that tell us more about what that soil sample means. We’re not most of the time we’re previously we would have just been relying on the soil samples to tell us the story. We’ve got all these other factors that we’re using to tell the story along with the soil samples. So that’s one thing. And then we are working with a contractor, GreenEDGE Precision, and they’ve developed the specialized sampling equipment for us. That is, it can take samples to one meter depth in a variety of conditions and that’s really well suited for rangeland and it’s very robust and can go through rocks. And and it also enables us to take bulk density measurements in a really cost effective way. 

Lisa Guenther: Great. Oh. Why are you doing this? Why do you think this is important? 

Kimberly Cornish: I think it’s important because the we’ve you know, the UN has talked about the 60 years of harvest left in terms of the amount of soil loss that we’ve had. And and just through more modern modern agricultural techniques haven’t haven’t always. There’s been progress, but I think we still face quite a bit of soil loss. And and I think this is an opportunity to to quantify what we have and what practices potentially could help build and kind of reverse those trends. I think there’s there’s some promise in how it could fit into a suite of agricultural or climate solutions that fit that also work well for agricultural processes. And and I think it’s what motivates me personally is just hearing about this for years and years. It’s with producers talking about like we’ve had this outcome and we’ve had this outcome and it’s increased our water holding capabilities than our and our infiltration and all of those different pieces of it. To actually be able to validate that I think is really significant. And I think it opens the door for the potential for an offset market or an ecological goods and services market that’s really data based and is specific to that piece of land that are generating some sort of credit. And I think that that potentially opens the door for more scalability of really good management. 

Lisa Guenther: Great. Well, thank you very much. Okay.

Dave Bedard: [00:22:36] You’ve been listening to Lisa Guenther of Canadian Cattlemen magazine, speaking with Kimberly Cornish of the Food Water Wellness Foundation. You’re listening to Between the Rows. I’m your host this week, Dave Bedard. It just takes a quick glance at any Chicago wheat futures chart to see just where one of the biggest grain exporting nations in the world went to war against another major grain exporting nation, jeopardizing both countries ability to supply grain. Now, with spring seeding not that far away here in Canada, Laura Rance our VP content here at Glacier Farm Media has some thoughts on what this implies for farmers on this side of the world.

Laura Rance: [00:23:18] Food security experts have issued a dire warning about the deteriorating state of global food security with Ukraine under siege. An alert issued in late March by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization speaks to the rising uncertainty about the ability of Ukraine’s farmers to continue to operate as this war with its unspeakable horrors continues. Already, there is evidence of food shortages in many of the surveyed regions. Putin’s war on Ukraine is unusual in that it affects two of the world’s largest exporters of food and feed grain. The impacts will reach far beyond the borders of Ukraine and Russia, just as the pandemic increased global food insecurity by pushing millions of people back below the poverty line. This conflict is severing food supply chains and driving up the cost of food exponentially. Nothing is more politically destabilizing than the sudden onset of hunger. Hunger in less developed countries readily leads to social unrest, bread riots and revolutions. The Canadian Agricultural Policy Institute worries that the Ukrainian invasion could spark further secondary conflicts in the Middle East, North Africa and elsewhere. It’s becoming more apparent by the day that the world is staring at generation defying supply shocks for which there is no easy remedy. The path to increase production elsewhere to make up for what’s being lost is fraught with complications. It takes time to push land into production, whether it is still undeveloped or land that has been idled, usually because it’s environmentally fragile or not very productive. Meanwhile, global carryover stocks of grain have been shrinking in recent years. What does exist may not be available to the market. China holds 50% of the carryover wheat and 70% of the corn.

Laura Rance: [00:25:14] It’s unlikely that this grain will be for sale at any price. This new era will affect all of us to varying degrees, ranging from those of us inconvenienced by higher food prices to those who will simply go without. As consumers, we need to remember that the food we throw out also wastes all of the resources that have gone into growing it, transporting it, processing it, and packaging it. Instead of putting it into the garbage. Throw it into a soup pot or a casserole instead. Farmers, meanwhile, have some bigger choices to make, mainly about what not to do. The attention on global supply shortages is focused on cereals used for food and feed. Early estimates aren’t pointing to a dramatic shift in seeding intentions, nor should they. Farmers decisions around what to grow should be driven by rotational issues, the availability of production inputs, market signals and what’s best for their land. Of course, it is in their best interests, as well as the environment, to continue refining their production decisions around efficiency and the sustainable use of resources. However, it would be a mistake to buy into the mythology that our farmers need to pull out all the stops, rip out every last tree row, and push fragile land into production to feed the world. That rhetoric places all the burden on productivity when, as the current situation exposes, it’s much more complicated than that. Rather than looking for ways to grow our way out of this mess, the international community needs to stay focused on restoring peace. I’m Gloria Brand’s vice president of content for Glacier Farm Media.

Dave Bedard: [00:27:15] Well, that’s been between the rose for this week. I’d like to thank our guests Erin Haskett, Jean Parsons and Kimberly Cornish, as well as Lisa Guenther and Laura Rance of Glacier Farm Media. We’ll be back in a week with more from the FM family of publications. I’ve been your host this week, Dave Bedard. Thanks for listening.

Commercial: [00:27:39] AGI West still manufactures the highest quality galvanized grain bins on the market. With over a century of experience. Our quality designs and storage options deliver the right solution to suit your needs. 

Visit AGGrowth.com/WestSteel for more information. That’s AGGrowth.com/WestSteel

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