Ontario Grain Farmer December 2021/January 2022

further strengthening the FSA’s ability to drive relevant and demonstrable continuous improvement of on-farm social, environmental and business performance through supply chain collaboration and fostering a common understanding of sustainable crop agriculture. Keeping with the mantra of being member- driven, member-run, the new version of the FSA was driven by members through consultations, working groups, and stakeholder interviews. Throughout the three-year process, all SAI Platformmembers were invited to help shape and provide perspective on the next version of the FSA. Over 40 SAI Platform members directly participated, and hundreds of people played a role in the refinement and development of this new version. Grain Farmers of Ontario had direct involvement in the FSA Guidance Committee helping to provide a farmer voice throughout the process and advocating on behalf of farmers locally but also internationally. Within the new FSA, a new online FSA Priority Screening Tool was built to help farm groups gain valuable insights into relevant sustainability challenges such as weather extremes, biodiversity decline, and labour issues. Farm groups are also offered extra guidance in developing, implementing, and monitoring a performance improvement plan with a new Continuous Improvement Module. All these added pieces build off the success of previous versions of the FSA. Fundamentally, the FSA hasn’t significantly changed but rather been refined to meet the sustainability challenges of today but also the future. Michael Buttenham is the environment and sustainability lead for Grain Farmers of Ontario. l ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER 33 DECEMBER 2021/JANUARY 2022 This article features insights from Grain Farmers of Ontario's Market Development department.