• Authors:
    • Worth, D.
    • Desjardins, R. L.
    • Dyer, J. A.
    • Vergé, X. P. C.
  • Source: Livestock Science
  • Volume: 121
  • Issue: 1
  • Year: 2009
  • Summary: In order to determine the potential of production practices for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG)emissions, it is important to quantify the GHG emissions associated with various types of production. The methodology from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) adjusted for conditions in Canada was used to calculate the GHG emissions from the Canadian pork industry for census years from 1981 to 2001. Emissions of CH4, N2O and CO2 from animals, their facilities and the crops used to feed them were estimated. The Pork Crop Complex (PCC), defined as the area used to grow the crops that feed all Canadian swine, was estimated using the recommended livestock feed rations. Fertilizer application and the use of fossil fuel were down-scaled from the national crop areas to the PCC. This study also estimated the GHG emission intensity based on the total weight of live animal production (destined for either slaughter or export). The growth of the swine population led to an increase in GHG emissions from the pork industry by 54% between 1981 and 2001. The main GHG was CH4, representing about 40% of the 6.7 TgCO2equiv. total in 2001. Nitrous oxide and fossil CO2 both accounted for about 30%. Due to changes in management practices, the GHG emission intensity of the Canadian swine industry decreased from 2.99 to 2.31 kg of CO2equiv. per kg of live market animal during the same period.
  • Authors:
    • Worth, D.
    • Desjardins, R. L.
    • Dyer, J. A.
    • Vergé, X. P. C.
  • Source: The Journal of Applied Poultry Research
  • Volume: 18
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2009
  • Summary: As people become more aware of the environmental footprint of different foods, consumers may modify their diets to reduce the impact of their diets on the environment. For this to occur, it is necessary to know the impact that individual food types have on the environment. This publication presents the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as well as the GHG emission intensity associated with various types of poultry production in Canada for the census years 1981 to 2006. Greenhouse gas emissions were calculated using the methodology from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change adjusted for conditions in Canada. Direct emissions of CH4, N2O, and CO2 from birds, their facilities, and the avian crop complex, corresponding to the area used to grow the crops that feed Canadian poultry, were estimated using poultry diet surveys. Between 1981 and 2006, because of the strong growth of broiler production, GHG emissions from the poultry industry increased by 40%. The main GHG was N2O, representing approximately 57% of the total emissions. Fossil fuel CO2 accounted for approximately 38%, whereas CH4 accounted for 5%. In western Canada, GHG emission intensities decreased owing to a reduction in the consumption of fossil fuels associated with the adoption of reduced- and no-tillage cropping systems, whereas in eastern Canada, the reduction was due to lower N2O emissions. The emissions of all 3 GHG from turkeys decreased because of the more rapid turnover of a marketable product (shortened life span) in later census years. Compared with other Canadian meat protein commodities in 2001, poultry emitted only 47% as much GHG per unit of live weight as pork and only 10% as much GHG per unit of live weight as beef.
  • Authors:
    • Jauhiainen, L.
    • Peltonen-Sainio, P.
    • Hakala, K.
  • Source: Agricultural and Food Science
  • Volume: 18
  • Issue: 3-4
  • Year: 2009
  • Summary: As the northern hemisphere will experience the greatest increases in temperature and indications of climatic change are already visible in the north (in the 2000s average temperatures exceeded the long-term mean), we sought to establish if there are already signs of increased variability in yield and quality of the major field crops grown under the northernmost European growing conditions: spring and winter cereals (barley Hordeum vulgare L., oat Avena saliva L., wheat Triticum aestivum L., rye Secale cereale L.), spring rapeseed (turnip rape Brassica rapa L., oilseed rape B. napus L.), pea (Piston sativum L.) and potato (Solanum tuberosum L.). We used long-term yield datasets of FAO for Finland (1960s to date) and MTT Agrifood Research Finland (MTT) Official Variety Trial datasets on yield and quality of major field crops in Finland since the 1970s. Yield variability was exceptionally high in the 1980s and 1990s, but previously and subsequently national yields were clearly more stable. No progressive increase in yield variability was recorded. No marked and systematic changes in variability of quality traits were recorded, except for rapeseed, which exhibited reduced variability in seed chlorophyll content. This may at least partly attribute to the differences in intensity of input use and thereby responsiveness of the crops before and after 1980 and 1990 decades. We also noted that in the 2000s average temperatures were higher than in earlier decades and this was the case for all months of the growing season except June, which represents, however, the most critical phase for yield determination in most of the field crops in Finland. Also in the 2000s precipitation increased in the first three months of the growing season and thereafter decreased, but without signs of significantly increased numbers of heavy showers (extreme rain events). Hence, in general constant, increased average temperatures during the growing seasons of the 2000s were identified, but with reduced yield variability, which was partly attributable to the diminished use of inputs, especially fertilisers.
  • Authors:
    • Pimenov, K. I.
    • Kutuzov, G. P.
  • Source: Kormoproizvodstvo
  • Issue: 9
  • Year: 2008
  • Summary: In a 3-year experiment carried out on a common chernozem in central Russia, woad ( Isatis costata) was grown as an intercrop in fodder crop rotations. The effect of early spring cover crops (barley or an oats + peas mixture) on woad cold resistance, the optimal sowing rate (1, 2 or 3 million seeds/ha), the effect of spring nitrogen fertilizer on yield, and the productivity and effectiveness of rotations were examined. Results showed that the cover crop - woad - Sudan grass rotations gave 3 harvests within 2 years. By including woad as an undersown intercrop (at 1 million seeds/ha), the yield of the rotation involving oats + peas as cover crop increased to 12.6 thousand fodder units/ha compared to 6.5 thousand/ha in a woad-Sudan grass control.
  • Authors:
    • Starkova, D. L.
    • Platunov, A. A.
  • Source: Kormoproizvodstvo
  • Issue: 8
  • Year: 2008
  • Summary: The effect of soil moisture level on development of perennial leguminous grasses in conditions of the Kirov region, Russia, is considered. The results of previous field trials revealed that the soil moisture content was higher under winter rye compared with spring crops or the absence of crops. Growing of a vetch-oat mixture for green fodder resulted in the driest soil conditions compared with oat, barley and wheat. Advantages of growing birdsfoot trefoil under the cover of cereal crops are discussed as a way of weed control, also resulting in better soil water conditions. However, birdsfoot trefoil had more light and soil moisture content and showed more intensive above-ground growth in the absence of a crop cover. Field trials were conducted to study the complex relationship between the growth and yield of spring and winter crops, availability of water and light, and weed control and production of high yield of green fodder. Data are tabulated on development and green fodder yield of birdsfoot trefoil during the 1st and 2nd years of growth without plant cover compared with growth under the cover of winter rye, barley, wheat, oat and vetch + oat in 2005 and 2006. Overall results confirmed advantages of growing birdsfoot trefoil under spring crops, especially oat, a vetch-oat mixture and wheat for higher yield of green fodder.
  • Authors:
    • Desjardins, R. L.
    • Wagner-Riddle, C.
    • Pennock, D. J.
    • McConkey, B. G.
    • Lemke, R. L.
    • Worth, D. E.
    • Rochette, P.
  • Source: Canadian Journal of Soil Science
  • Volume: 88
  • Issue: 5
  • Year: 2008
  • Summary: International initiatives such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol require that countries calculate national inventories of their greenhouse gas emissions. The objective of the present study was to develop a country-specific (Tier II) methodology to calculate the inventory of N2O emissions from agricultural soils in Canada. Regional fertilizer-induced emission factors (EFreg) were first determined using available field experimental data. Values for EFreg were 0.0016 kg N2O-N kg-1 N in the semi-arid Brown and 0.008 kg N2O-N kg N-1 in the sub-humid Black soil zones of the Prairie region, and 0.017 kg N2O-N kg-1 N in the humid provinces of Quebec and Ontario. A function relating EFreg to the "precipitation to potential evapotranspiration" ratio was determined to estimate annual emission factors (EFeco) at the ecodistrict scale in all agricultural regions of Canada. Country-specific coefficients were also developed to account for the effect of several additional factors on soil N2O emissions. Emissions from fine-textured soils were estimated as being 50% greater than from coarse- and medium-textured soils in eastern Canada; emissions during winter and spring thaw corresponded to 40% of emissions during the snow-free season in eastern Canada; increased emissions from lower (wetter) sections of the landscape and irrigated areas were accounted for; emissions from no-till soils were 10% greater in eastern, but 20% lower in western Canada than from those under conventional tillage practices; emissions under summerfallow were estimated as being equal to those from soils under annual cropping. This country-specific methodology therefore accounts for regional climatic and land use impacts on N2O emission factors, and includes several sources/offsets that are not included in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) default approach.
  • Authors:
    • Li, X.
    • Flesch, T. K.
    • Gao, Z.
    • Desjardins, R. L.
    • van Haarlem, R. P.
  • Source: Canadian Journal of Animal Science
  • Volume: 88
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2008
  • Summary: Methane and ammonia emissions from a beef feedlot in western Canada for a twelve-day period in the fall. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 88: 641649. Commercial feedlot operations are becoming a mainstay in the Canadian beef industry. These large operations that typically raise thousands of animals at a time represent a large localized source of methane (CH4) and of atmospheric pollutants such as ammonia (NH3) and particulate matter. An inverse dispersion model was utilized to calculate CH4 and NH3 emissions from a commercial cattle feedlot and an adjacent runoff retention pond. The feedlot measurements were collected within the interior of the feedlot enabling a near continuous emissions record over the 12 d of the study period. Average daily emission estimates of CH4 and NH3 were 323 and 318 g animal -1d-1, respectively. The CH4 emissions represent 4% of the gross energy intake (GEI) and NH3 emissions represent 72% of the total N intake. Emissions from the runoff retention pond associated directly with the feedlot operation were approximately 2.7 and 2% of the daily average feedlot emissions of CH4 and NH3, respectively.
  • Authors:
    • Worth, D.
    • Desjardins, R. L.
    • Dyer, J. A.
    • Vergé, X. P. C.
  • Source: Agricultural Systems
  • Volume: 98
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2008
  • Summary: Commodity-specific estimates of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Canadian agriculture are required in order to identify the most efficient GHG mitigation measures. In this paper, the methodology from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for estimating bovine GHG emissions, for census years from 1981 to 2001, was applied to the Canadian beef industry. This analysis, which is based on several adaptations of IPCC methodology already done for the Canadian dairy industry, includes the concept of a beef crop complex, the land base that feeds the beef population, and the use of recommendations for livestock feed rations and fertilizer application rates to down-scale the national area totals of each crop, regardless of the use of that crop, to the feed requirements of the Canada's beef population. It shows how high energy feeds are reducing enteric methane emissions by displacing high roughage diets. It also calculates an emissions intensity indicator based on the total weight of live beef cattle destined for market. While total GHG from Canadian beef production have increased from 25 to 32 Tg of CO2 equiv. between 1981 and 2001, this increase was mainly driven by expansion of the Canadian cattle industry. The emission intensity indicator showed that between 1981 and 2001, the Canadian beef industry GHG emissions per kg of live animal weight produced for market decreased from 16.4 to 10.4 kg of CO2 equiv.
  • Authors:
    • Furtan, W. H.
    • Davey, K. A.
  • Source: Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue Canadienne D'Agroeconomie
  • Volume: 56
  • Issue: 3
  • Year: 2008
  • Summary: The adoption of conservation tillage technology since the 1970s has been one of the most remarkable changes in the production of crops on the Canadian Prairies. The decision whether to adopt conservation tillage technology or not requires the producer to go through a thorough decision-making process. In Canada, there has been little economic research on the question of what farm, regional, and environmental characteristics affect the adoption decision. Using 1991, 1996, and 2001 Census of Agriculture data together with other data sources we estimate a probit model explaining the adoption decision. We find that important variables include farm size, proximity to a research station, type of soil, and weather conditions.
  • Authors:
    • Worth, D.
    • Desjardins, R. L.
    • Verge´, X. P. C.
    • Dyer, J. A.
  • Source: Canadian Journal of Soil Science
  • Volume: 88
  • Issue: 5
  • Year: 2008
  • Summary: Estimates of the efficiency of mitigation measures on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the agricultural sector are required. In this paper, recently calculated dairy GHG emissions for 2001 were extrapolated back to 1981 for census years using an index. The index was verified by comparing it with estimates based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) methodology for 1991. The index agreed with the IPCC estimates within 1% for methane and 4% for nitrous oxide on a national scale with no region having a difference of more than 5% for methane. For nitrous oxide, all regions were within 10%, except British Columbia, where the index was 19% too high. The index indicates that GHG emissions from primary milk production within the Canadian dairy industry have decreased by about 49% since 1981, mainly due to a 57% reduction in the dairy cow population during that period. The GHG emissions per kilogram of milk decreased by 35%, that is from 1.22 kg CO2eq kg-1 milk to 0.91 kg CO2eq kg-1 milk. Because this study took into account the energy-related CO2 emissions from all the major farm inputs (fertilizer and fossil fuel), there was little risk of hidden GHG emissions in the emission intensity calculation. This study demonstrates that where lack of input data restricts historical application of simulation models, a semi-empirical index approach can yield valuable results. Key words: Greenhouse gas, dairy industry, index, intensity indicator