Reading Time: 4 minutes The United Nations Climate Conference, COP28, recently held in Rome, was for the first time focused on agriculture. The outcome seems to be a set of seriously flawed directives for farmers. In the 28-year history of the Conference of the Parties, agriculture has always taken a backseat. The 2023 meetings brought food production forward, not […] Read more
Schoepp: Ruminants in the COP28 crosshairs
There’s been little meaningful engagement with agriculture on this issue
Cattle sector awaits details on methane plan
Early thinking is that federal incentives to help producers reduce cattle emissions could fit with industry targets
Reading Time: 2 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Canada’s draft policy that would provide financial incentives to livestock producers to reduce methane from cattle aligns with the beef sector’s target to see those emissions reduced by one-third by 2030. The beef industry will have to see how well federal government proposals merge with its own efforts, which have already resulted in Canadian […] Read more
Carbon intensity is ‘game changer’
To stay competitive, canola will have to improve its score
Reading Time: 4 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Bob Larocque had one takeaway from his presentation at Canola Week 2023. “Remember carbon intensity because that’s the game changer,” said the president of the Canadian Fuels Association. That factor will help determine the value of canola when large volumes of the crop are being consumed by the renewable diesel sector. His […] Read more
Ottawa sets challenge for cattle methane emissions
Ottawa announces Agricultural Methane Reduction Challenge and $12 million in funding
Reading Time: 2 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Ottawa is making $12 million available to help find ways to reduce methane emissions from cow-calf, dairy and feedlot operations. The Agricultural Methane Reduction Challenge is part of the federal government’s plan to reduce overall methane emissions 40 to 45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 and to be net-zero by […] Read more
Wheat Growers take new shot at federal fertilizer policy
The federal government wants a 30 per cent reduction in emissions from fertilizer, but says it is voluntary
Reading Time: 3 minutes The Wheat Growers Association says claims that the federal government is threatening to force a 30 per cent reduction in nitrogen fertilizer use, published in a newsletter aimed at consumers, was meant to prove a point. “We aren’t really exaggerating,” said Wheat Growers president Gunter Jochum. “I felt they were not exaggerating because of the […] Read more
NFU report adjusts sequestration, fuel emissions numbers
Uncertainty about absolute numbers isn’t the same as uncertainty about trends: author
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadian agriculture is sequestering more carbon than originally thought, but it’s also burning more diesel fuel, according to a new report from the National Farmers Union. In August, the NFU released the third edition of its Agriculture Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Canada report. It reflected updated information from the latest national inventory that the federal […] Read more
The climate-friendly cows bred to belch less methane
Research conducted partially at the University of Alberta underpins the effort
Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters – When dairy farmer Ben Loewith’s calves are born next spring, they will be among the first in the world to be bred with a specific environmental goal: burping less methane. Loewith, a third-generation farmer in Lynden, Ont., in June started artificially inseminating 107 cows and heifers with the first-to-market bull semen with a […] Read more
OFCAF applications still on hold
Key program provider still battling with applications from early 2023
Reading Time: 3 minutes Those hoping to apply for a popular cost-share program in 2023 must play a waiting game. Results Driven Agriculture Research, one of three Alberta administrators of the On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF), put new applications on hold May 10. An early news release pegged Aug. 15 as a possible reopening date. A newer guess suggests […] Read more
Emissions reduction needs a lifeline
Canadian farmers can’t extract added production costs from global markets
Reading Time: 3 minutes Nobody likes to change, especially not when they’re comfortable and things are going well. But that attitude can lead to complacency and inertia as the world passes by. This is the delicate balance that farmers are being asked to strike, with little evidence that it’s going to pay them dividends of any kind. The issue […] Read more
Low emitting cow-calf farms move in step with profitability
The variability of the cow-calf sector means there are many levers to pull to increase financial, environmental sustainability, says researcher
Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – A study benchmarking cow-calf profitability against greenhouse gas intensity suggests profitable farms tend to have lower emissions, but there’s a lot of room to work on both sides of the equation. “There’s a lot that we can do to provide support to producers who are willing to try things … and I […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
