Canada’s climate is changing. Higher temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns, extreme weather events and rising sea levels are just some of the changes already affecting many aspects of our lives.
Changes in climate will persist and, in many cases, will intensify over the coming decades. That will have significant impacts on Canadian communities through our economy, social well-being and environment.
We must understand these impacts and the options available to us if we want to build resilience through adaptation, reduce the associated risks and costs of climate change’s impacts, and support sound decision-making.
Germination put out the call for seed industry players who are making a difference in helping mitigate the effects of climate change. The qualifications? That the company have an active effect on mitigating the effects of climate change on Canada’s seed sector. Here’s the first of who we selected for 2022.
Ellis Seeds — Wawanesa, Man.
Ellis Seeds strives to be a leader in environmental action. The use of solar panels to power its cleaning/ processing facility and heat its office and shop was the first step. From there they’ve planted an acre of wildflowers to help provide habitat for pollinators and have worked with partner Black Creek Farm to develop water retention ponds and repair riparian areas.
Ellis Seeds is currently in the process of replacing its passenger vehicle fleet with hybrid cars and trucks.
“Our business is closely tied to the environment, and we want to do as much as we possibly can. Reducing our impact is critical. My wife Amanda and I have two young kids, so we want to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to leave a really good farm and seed business to them if they choose to get involved one day,” says owner Simon Ellis.
“Aside from that, it seems like we’re getting more and more volatile weather events, so we’re looking at ways where we can mitigate our risk of that and prepare for it. We’re looking at different ways that we can kind of manage those extremes a little bit if we can.”
Ellis Seeds is a registered seed establishment, with HACCP certification and an accredited seed treater through the Agrichemical Warehousing Standards Association. The processing facility has been designed to process a wide range of crop types, to stay ahead of changes in farming needs or climate change pressures.
As new technologies present themselves, Ellis Seeds will research and implement technology that will reduce its environmental footprint, Ellis adds.
