The reduced tillage that comes with direct seeding has cut production costs and returned to society more than half a billion dollars annually in Saskatchewan and $200 million in Alberta.
Peter Gamache of Alberta Reduced Tillage Linkages (ARTL) analyzed the Alberta case based on Statistics Canada 2006 census data and adjusted it to reflect 2008 input costs and crop prices.
The Saskatchewan Soil Conservation Association (SSCA) has also considered the issue of the economic benefits of direct seeding versus traditional tillage systems and has its own value estimated for that province.
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The analysis is based on prairie prices and costs and doesn’t assign economic value to reduced soil erosion, water management or improved soil quality.
Direct seeding has grown beyond a novel way to improve soil quality and maximize returns to producers despite often-scarce moisture conditions. Now it is common practice.
Beginning in the 1980s, the popularity of direct seeding has been nurtured by soil conservation associations and agrologists and has been adopted by about half of the grain growers in Western Canada.
Beyond the direct savings and improved returns for producers, the value of reduced carbon dioxide emissions are significant. They are a quantifiable benefit to society and form nearly five percent of the annual impact for farmers, said Gamache.
In Alberta, fuel savings from the reduced tillage amounted to $55 million in 2008, according to ARTL.
In Saskatchewan, with its larger cropped acreage, the savings were $122.6 million. These are based on $1.03 per litre fuel.
Savings amount to about six litres per acre in reduced fuel use. Labour savings of 15.7 minutes per acre at $15 an hour were worth nearly $78 million in Saskatchewan and $35 million in Alberta.
At an average of $6 per bushel for grain and oilseeds, increased yields in Saskatchewan were calculated to have improved gross revenue by $238 million annually. For Alberta, revenue improved by $107 million based on a yield increase of two bushels per acre for both provinces.
When it comes to the value of carbon, it can be priced per tonne sequestered by looking to carbon markets in Alberta or on the Chicago Climate Exchange.
Based on 2.7 kilograms of carbon per litre of fuel burned, the value of carbon credits in the two provinces, nearly all unrealized financially, is worth about $30 million.
Blair McClinton of SSCA said the calculation highlights the value of the change in production practices.
“In many cases labour at $15 wouldn’t begin to cover the cost of experienced help on the farm. In many areas the competition is with the oil patch or a hot economy in cities,” he said.
“So these estimates are conservative in that sense.”
The agrologist said the value of soil erosion, improved fertility and the benefits to wildlife and environment are harder to put a number on.
McClinton said this sort of analysis assists not just producers in understanding the value of their practices, but also provides context to policy-makers.