The Rural Voice, 2003-12, Page 63The leading edge
Don't count on making money from
carbon credits: U. of Guelph researcher
Farmers won't make a worthwhile
profit selling their pollution credits to
reduce greenhouse emissions, a
University of Guelph researcher says.
"Reducing emissions through a
carbon -credit market could be cost-
effective for all polluters but the
benefits and incentives need to be
good enough to encourage everyone
to cut back," said Prof. Alfons
Weersink of the Department of
Agricultural Economics and Business.
Agriculture accounts for about 10
per cent of Canada's greenhouse gas
emissions, but it can make reductions
more easily than other sectors such as
oil and gas producers. Farmers can
use cost-effective conservation
methods such as zero tillage, reduced
summer fallow or improved grazing to
cut down on emissions.
"It would be easier for farmers to
reduce their emissions and then sell
their remaining credits to polluters
whose cost of carbon cutting are
higher in a carbon -credit market
situation," Weersink said. But the
long-term costs and the loss of
flexibility may outweigh profits,
particularly for Ontario farmers, he
said. Previous studies on the potential
for a carbon -credit market have
focused on farmers in Western
Canada, who have more land to work
with and lower costs for converting to
conservation practices, compared to
Ontario farmers.
Weersink conducted an economic
study of a representative Ontario crop
farmer who grows 200 acres of corn,
100 acres of soybeans and 100 acres
of winter wheat under conventional
tillage. He examined the level of
greenhouse gas emissions, the
technologies and the costs involved in
substituting agricultural activities. He
says,the carbon -credit market is prob-
lematic because each tillage choice
and crop rotation releases different
levels of carbon that can vary even on
the same field and over time. It's diff-
icult to determine how much carbon
credit a farmer can actually sell.
The current price of carbon is also
not enough to make farmers switch
their practices, Weersink said. But
governments could play a role by
subsidizing the price because there
will be significant environmental
benefits associated with carbon -
reducing conservation measures such
as erosion control, less chemical use
and an increase in wildlife habitat.
Governments also need to provide
the rules and legal framework to
create stability for a carbon -credit
market, he said especially since some
companies are already buying credits.0
— Source: University of Guelph
Research Magazine.
Device delivers aerial views without flging
Farmers who want to check livestock, get an aerial view of their crops or just
have some fun freaking out their neighbours may be interested in the
Draganflyers IV remote-controlled helicopter.
The Draganflyer wasn't necessarily developed with farmers in mind, but
Zenon Dragan, founder of Draganfly Innovations in Saskatoon said it would be
applied to agricultural work.
"A farmer can launch this from the palm of his hand to get a bird's eye view
of his crop to tell if there are damaged spots," Dragan said. He said the
Draganflyer is an investment of $9000S. but a farmer could recover some of the
investment by renting it out. The helicopter is made of ultra -lightweight carbon
fibre and weighs 482 grams and is virtually crashproof, the company claims. The
four -rotor electric flyer is powered by a rechargeable'lithium battery. Its wireless
colour micro -video camera sends digital video to a portable base station on the
ground where the images can be watched and recorded. The flyer has a range of
800 metres but Dragan recommends farmers fly it only as far as they can see it.
The company's website is www.draganfly.com.0
— Source: Western Producer
Little difference on crops
between woodchip and
straw bedding in manure
A three-year study by Agricul-
ture Canada researchers shows
there's little difference to crops
whether woodchips or straw are
used as bedding.
The researchers at Lethbridge
Research Station compared the
results of applying raw and
composted manure containing
either straw or wood chips on
irrigated barley silage. a common
silage crop for feedlot operations
in western Canada. The manure
was applied in the fall and
incorporated using a double disc.
Led by soil and water specialist
Jim Miller, the team studied crop
yields and uptake of nutrients
including nitrogen (N),
phosphorus, potassium. sodium,
calcium and sulfur.
"We initially suspected that
adding fresh manure with wood-
chips would create problems with
N immobilization. A lot of N can
get tied up by organic matter
because of the high carbon -to -
nitrogen ratio in wood." said
Miller.
Typically when wood chips are
added to soil it's recommended
extra fertilizer be applied or other-
wise the N won't be released. But
after the first three years of study.
the researchers found no evidence
that crop yields suffered from N
immobilization.
The study suggests that not
only is there not a difference in
crop yields but that the uptake of
nutrients by the crop is similar
under the two different bedding
materials. Still, Miller stresses the
results are preliminary and it's
important to keep this experiment
going over a long period of time.
"Some effects may not show up
for five or even 10 years,
especially because wood is so slow
to degrade."
Miller recommends testing both
soil and manure before applying.0
—Source: Canadian Cattlemen
Magazine
DECEMBER 2003 59