When the public thinks about greenhouse gas emissions from farming, images of flatulent and belching cows seem to come first to mind.
But farm fields have been doing a one-cheek-sneak of greenhouse gases since farming began, leaking unnecessary gas into the environment.
It’s the kind of silent but deadly loss of expensive fertilizer that farmers hope to reduce with research being done at the National Centre for Livestock and the Environment near Winnipeg.
“In terms of agriculture’s contribution to greenhouse gases, emissions from soils is quite a sizable piece, and we really don’t know anything about that,” said Keystone Agricultural Producers president Ian Wishart.
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“When we lose nitrous oxide emissions from soils, that’s nitrogen fertilizer we paid good money for.”
The Manitoba government is putting $1 million into new research aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from farming.
According to Environment Canada analysis, about 30 percent of Manitoba’s greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture. More than 40 percent of agriculture’s emissions come from gas released from farmland, much of it from the escape of nitrogen-based fertilizers.
Manitoba agriculture minister Rosann Wowchuk said she hopes the research helps farmers develop more environmentally friendly farming methods that will reduce greenhouse gases and save them money.
“Manitoba farmers are responsible stewards of the land and today’s funding will lead to new tools to help reduce the environmental footprint of agricultural production,” said Wowchuk when announcing the funding.
Researchers have already received the first $150,000 of the program, which will allow them to study various cropping systems, use of forage crops, changes in animal diets and better use of natural grasslands to reduce emissions.
Wishart said farmers would appreciate any results that reveal how to stop losing nitrogen fertilizer to the atmosphere.
“If there are efficiencies to gain, it could definitely improve the bottom line.”
