Innovative farming: How big picture thinking builds long-term sustainability

Quebec dairy and cash crop farmer Fanny Delisle takes a big-picture approach to her farm operation.

Combining her diverse educational background in biology, land planning, business and people management, she’s successfully implemented regenerative practices and work inclusivity policies across five different agriculture enterprises of her farm operation. Her focus is on building a truly sustainable business that supports the wider agriculture sector, landscape and people working in it, both now and for the future.

Investing now for benefits later

Delisle’s background drove a variety of initiatives to improve the environmental impact of her farm businesses. This includes tree planting and the improvement of riparian area. An on-farm biodigester generating power from methane is also in the works, and Delisle has implemented a slew of regenerative production practices, such as cover cropping, a more diverse crop rotation and low tillage.

The overarching idea, says Delisle, is to make investments now that will pay off environmentally while, at the same time, making financial sense.

“We often talk about sustainable development while forgetting the fact that we have to be able to finance it,” Delisle says. “We have to be profitable; we have to be environmental, and then we have to think about the social aspect.”