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Designed to create awareness and to demonstrate beneficial management practices (BMP) for mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on farm, the federal Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Program for Canadian Agriculture is entering its third year. The priorities of the program over the next three years are on-farm activities, including demonstration farms, related projects and extension activities planned for every province.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has divided the program into two key areas: soil and nutrient management and livestock management. The Soil Conservation Council of Canada (SCCC) is responsible for the soil and nutrient management program, while three livestock organizations, including the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, Canadian Pork Council and the Dairy Farmers of Canada, are responsible for the livestock management component.
“These four organizations have formed a partnership to work with producer groups across Canada to implement these programs,” explains Doug McKell, Executive Director of SCCC. The livestock management program focuses on mitigating GHG in livestock operations, and focuses on issues such as losses of methane from animals, livestock facilities, composting and manure storage. Once the manure leaves storage and moves to the field, it becomes a component of the soils and nutrient management program.
The soils and nutrient management program focuses on issues such as managing fertilizers to reduce nitrous oxide emissions, reduced tillage and growing forages to remove or sequester carbon in the soil, utilizing animal manures without creating GHG. “The two management groups cooperate to some extent in the gray area between when manure leaves manure storage and enters the fields as a nutrient management issue,” says McKell.
The intent of the demonstration component of the program is to demonstrate BMPs that reduce, remove or sequester greenhouse gases. “We are quite cognizant that producers won’t adopt greenhouse gas BMPs just for climate change purposes, we realize we have to demonstrate the benefits in terms of practices that make environmental and economic sense as well,” explains McKell. “The BMPs, many of which we’ve been promoting through good soil conservation practices over the past several years, are not only good for sustainable agriculture purposes, but also for mitigating climate change.”
Every province across Canada is involved in the federal program. On the soils and nutrient management side, each province is leading the program delivery through their Taking Charge Teams, which were formed three years ago for a SCCC program. “Through the Taking Charge program, teams of producers were established in each province, and in most cases those teams were already involved in local soil conservation association,” says McKell. For example, in Alberta the Alberta Reduced Tillage LINKAGES (RTL) program is the lead, and in Saskatchewan it’s the Saskatchewan Soil Conservation Association.
“We are very pleased to have representation from across Canada, representing all producers from both the livestock management program and the soils and nutrient management program,” says McKell. “The key to the whole program is that producers are being proactive instead of reactive.” These steams have been charged with developing the program and establishing demonstrations that fit the needs of their individual areas and leading the implementation. “The federal government has had the foresight with this program to release funds to these groups up front, so they can move forward on the demonstrations and awareness projects.” The program runs until March 2006.
Taking Charge in Alberta
In Alberta, the Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Program for Canadian Agriculture is being led by the Taking Charge Team, which has representatives from both the livestock management groups and the soil and nutrient groups. “The program is producer driven, and supported by industry and government, which makes it very unique,” explains John Hermans, Head, Conservation and Development Branch of Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (AAFRD). AAFRD is taking a lead role in the implementation of this program in Alberta.
The focus of the Alberta program is on awareness and demonstration, and plans are underway for a number of projects, ranging from summer tours, followup workshops and other special events. “Coincidentally in Alberta, we had previously developed a GHG Workbook, which we’ve offered to the other groups nationally to use and adapt to their needs,” says Hermans. This GHG Workbook is one of the core pieces of awareness for the Alberta program, and several workshops are being planned. “We’re also working with Olds College to develop a distance learning package related to the workbook. A website is also under development so users can interact with the workbook.”
The establishment of four demonstration farm projects and satellite demonstration sites is a key part of the plan over the next three years. A number of organizations and individuals are involved in the planning, with RTL taking on the management role for the soils and nutrient management. “One of the priorities of the Taking Charge team is to encourage integration between the soils and nutrient management and livestock management, and establish one set of demonstrations wherever possible, says Hermans. “We want to try and demonstrate BMPS for greenhouse gases from the whole farm perspective.”
In Alberta, RTL will manage the implementation of the Demonstration Farm Project at representative locations across Alberta. “The demonstrations will provide the opportunity for producers to see how some of these BMPs can be implemented, and also to try some of these technologies on their own farms,” explains Peter Gamache, Team Leader, Alberta Reduced Tillage LINKAGES (RTL). “We plan to integrate direct seeding technologies for example with some of the livestock manure issues. Another critical component will be nutrient management in terms of fertility and livestock manure.”
Four sites have been proposed for the Demonstration Farms, including the Parkland Conservation Farm (PCF) near Mundare, Olds College Demonstration Farm, Lethbridge Demonstration Farm and the Peace Demonstration Farm with the Smoky Applied Research and Demonstration Association (SARDA) near Fahler. “The Demonstration Farm sites will provide producers with the opportunity to see BMPs being implemented in the field on a farm scale, with more detailed projects being implemented at related hub sites.” The Demonstration Farms will play a key role in awareness and adoption through the various demonstration projects, summer tours and workshops.
For more information, contact:
Peter Gamache at email: peter.gamach@gov.ab.ca
John Hermans at email: john.hermans@gov.ab.ca
Doug McKell at email: info@soilcc.ca |
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