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Field-ready kits will help explain the greenhouse gas process
Calgary, Alta. and Indian Head, Sask., Mar. 30, 2005 |
Improved testing tools will soon provide Canadian farmers and ranchers
with a clearer picture of the difference improved management techniques
make in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
A series of field testing kits developed and tested over the past 18
months and being made available to extension specialists will help
generate faster results on various soil quality factors and greenhouse gas
emission levels as different management techniques are compared.
Being able to measure and quantify changes in gas emissions will provide
tangible evidence to the frontline forces that improved production
practices do make a difference.
“The value is that people involved in research and demonstration projects
will be able to collect gas samples as the work is being done,” says Dr.
David Burton, research chair in climate change at the Nova Scotia
Agricultural College in Truro. “Now we will not only be able to say a
certain practice makes a difference in greenhouse gas emissions, we will
be able to quantify it.”
The kits are being developed in a collaborative effort between Burton and
Dr. David Lobb, Associate Professor, Department of Soil Science,
University of Manitoba.
The four kits include a Greenhouse Gas Monitoring Kit, a Soil Quality
Monitoring Kit, which was actually developed by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA), a Soil Environment Monitoring Kit, with components
similar to a weather station, and a Soil Carbon Monitoring Kit. The gas
monitoring kit, the soil quality kit, and the environment monitoring kit
are completed and ready for use. Burton still has a few technical bugs to
work out of the carbon monitoring kit, but hopes to have it ready later
this year.
The field test kits are being developed as part of the federal Greenhouse
Gas Mitigation Program (GHGMP) for Canadian Agriculture. It’s a national
program designed to demonstrate a wide range of good production practices,
through hundreds of on-farm demonstration projects in different
agricultural sectors, all aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
With all these demonstrations being done, it was felt it would be
beneficial to have the tools available to make a range of measurements.
The $91,500 project received funds from the GHGMP beef sector, which is
administered by the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA), the GHGMP soil
and nutrient management sector, administered by Soil Conservation Council
of Canada (SCCC), and the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Scientific
Working Group associated with the program.
“The use of the field test kits to measure soil greenhouse gas emissions
will be an interesting component of some of our demonstration projects
this summer,” says Pat Walker, GHGMP beef project co-ordinator in Calgary.
“Besides the numerous visible and tangible benefits to be seen on well
managed grazing systems, being able to quantify emissions levels may help
producers to relate better to the greenhouse gas mitigation value of
different grazing management systems and the wise use of soil amendments
such as manure and compost.”
The kits will be a useful tool for increasing producer awareness and
understanding of the whole greenhouse gas emissions issue, adds Doug
McKell, co-ordinator of the GHGMP soils and nutrient management sections
and SCCC executive director.
“Soil Conservation Council of Canada believes the kits will help producers
understand how improved management practices can enhance the soil such
that the result is an overall reduction in greenhouse gasses,” says McKell.
“Extension is valuable part in showing producers how changes in practices
make a difference.”
For more details on the test kits and other greenhouse gas mitigation
projects, see the features sections on the respective SCCC and CCA
websites. For soil-related projects go to the SCCC website at
www.soilcc.ca and follow the
links under the GHGMP section, and for beef-related projects visit the CCA
website at www.cattle.ca , go to
the Stewardship section and follow the links.
The idea is to simplify the testing process. “We’re talking about kits
that fit in a tool box and are carried out to the field,” says Burton.
“The kits have either the components to produce test results right in the
field, or at least enable the technician to collect proper samples for
analysis.” And you don’t have to be a researcher to use the kits either,
adds Burton. “They are designed so anyone with training in agricultural
science can follow the procedure.”
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For more information contact:
Dr. Dave Burton
Nova Scotia Agricultural College
Turro, NS
Phone: (902) 893-6250
Pat Walker Doug McKell
GHGMP – Beef Project Co-ordinator Executive Director, SCCC
Calgary, AB Indian Head, Sask.
Phone: (403) 601-8991 Phone: (306) 695-4212
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© Canadian Cattlemen's
Association, 2005 |
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© Canadian Cattlemen's
Association, 2005
CCA Calgary - #310, 6715 - 8th St. NE, Calgary, AB T2E 7H7, (403) 275-8558
Fax: (403) 274-5686
CCA Ottawa - #1403, 150 Metcalfe St., Ottawa, ON K2P 1P1, (613) 233-9375
Fax: (613) 233-2860 |
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