Better Farming Ontario | November 2024

Research & Farm Science DEMAND NEW HOLLAND https://agriculture.newholland.com/nar/en-us Bob Mark New Holland Sales Ltd. Campbellford • 705-653-3700 Bob Mark New Holland Sales Ltd. Lindsay • 705-324-2221 Bob Mark New Holland Sales Ltd. Napanee • 613-354-9244 Bob Mark New Holland Sales Ltd. Sunderland • 705-357-3121 Delta Power Equipment Mitchell • 519-348-8467 Delta Power Equipment St. Marys • 519-349-2180 Delta Power Equipment Tilbury • 519-682-9090 Delta Power Equipment Waterford • 519-443-8622 Delta Power Equipment Watford • 519-849-2744 Delta Power Equipment Winchester • 613-774-2887 Ebert Welding Ltd. New Liskeard • 705-647-6896 ESM Farm Equipment Ltd. Wallenstein • 519-669-5176 Maxville Farm Machinery Ltd. Maxville • 613-527-2834 McCauley Equipment Sales Orillia • 705-325-4424 Oneida New Holland Caledonia • 905-765-5011 Oneida New Holland St Catharines • 905-688-5160 Regional Tractor Sales Ltd. Freelton • 905-659-1094 Richards Equipment Inc. Barrie • 705-721-5530 Robert’s Farm Equipment Sales, Inc. Chesley • 519-363-3192 Robert’s Farm Equipment Sales, Inc. Mount Forest • 519-323-2755 Robert’s Farm Equipment Sales, Inc. Walton • 519-887-6365 Smiths Farm Equipment (Jasper) Ltd. Jasper • 613-283-1758 Stewart’s Equipment Erin • 519-833-9616 increasing water use and scarcity, nitrous oxide and methane emissions, soil degradation, nitrogen and phosphorus pollution, pest pressure, pesticide pollution and biodiversity loss.  Climate-agriculture feedback pathways could dramatically increase greenhouse gas emissions. Without changes in farming, this feedback loop could make it impossible to achieve the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 C to 2 C.  Existing sustainable agricultural practices and technologies, if they are implemented on a wide scale, can greatly reduce agricultural emissions and prevent a feedback loop from developing. To achieve this, governments must work to remove socioeconomic barriers and make climate-resilient solutions accessible to farmers and food producers. “We need agriculture, but the future of humanity also requires that we reduce agriculture’s environmental harms,” said co-author David Tilman, a professor at the University of Minnesota College of Biological Sciences. “By evaluating new practices being tried around the world we have identified practices that appear to increase harvests while decreasing environmental harm. “Once these new practices are tested and verified, we need a farm bill that pays farmers both for producing food and for improving the environment. Enabling better stewardship has tremendous benefits for all of us. “The researchers looked at all aspects of the relationship between agriculture and climate to determine where new practices are the most effective. While carbon sequestration is currently a priority, an integrated approach that factors in farming efficiency and pollutants like nitrous oxide could deliver much larger climate benefits and a more stable future for agriculture. “Practices such as precision fertilizer use and crop rotation can prevent a feedback loop from developing.” The team identified a number of next steps. First and foremost, stakeholders should accelerate the adaptation and cost-reduction of efficient and climate-friendly agriculture. Precision farming, perennial crop integration, agrivoltaics, nitrogen fixation, and novel genome editing are among the emerging techniques that could increase production and efficiency in agriculture while reducing climate change impacts. They recommend further research on climate-agriculture feedback pathways and new technologies like onfarm robots. BF This research was funded in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation. Founded in 1922, the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health pursues an agenda of research, education, and service to address the critical and complex public health issues affecting the world.

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