Farmer to Farmer Collaboration

The constantly changing climate of agriculture has added pressure on Canadian farmers. These pressures over the years have forced a decline in overall farm numbers and resulted in more consolidation. Data from Statistics Canada shows this trend and highlights the loss of mid-sized farm operations. A study conducted by the Institute for the Advanced Study of Food and Agriculture Policy at the University of Guelph highlights that about 31% of Canadian farms had farm sales between $100,000 to $250,000 in 1981 and this fell to 8.5% in 2016 (Chen et al, 2019). This operating environment raises the question, how do we strengthen overall farm viability no matter the size? This report looks at the role collaborations could play in helping farmers overcome these challenges.

In researching collaboration, it seemed many in Canada resisted the idea. This led to stepping back to determine why there was such resistance. Research in behavioural economics helped explain why this may be happening. Fearing loss over a potential of gain may cause farmers to view collaborations negatively. Furthermore, it emphasizes the impact that decision biases have on collaborations in general.

This report examines five collaborations in Australia and New Zealand. Among these case studies, positive trends are observed, and key elements were identified in successful collaborations. In conducting numerous interviews, it further highlighted these trends.