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Tag Archives climate change — page 4

The minister is on the case: federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau checks out the cab of a new Case IH Magnum tractor during her visit to the Ag in Motion show on July 20, 2022. (Greg Berg photo)
Crops

Federal report shows farmer concerns remain regarding emissions targets

AAFC report polled farmers, industry for thoughts on fertilizer emissions policy

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A new Agriculture and Agri-food Canada (AAFC) report shows farmers remain concerned about federal emissions reduction targets — and whether those targets remain voluntary. The “What We Heard” Report, released Wednesday, is the result of consultations between AAFC and the agricultural sector to gather feedback on how best to support farmers and producers to achieve […] Read more
Syrup season has started early but the spectre of climate change casts a shadow on future harvests.
News

A bitter sweet surprise: Sugarbush season starts early

Reports indicate quality syrup resulting from rare February start

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A string of mild early-February weather created an early — and in some cases bountiful — harvest for syrup producers in Ontario’s southwest. But while some producers welcomed the season’s early arrival, the chair of the Climate Change Working Group of the Ontario Maple Syrup Producers Association sees ominous signs of what’s to come from […] Read more
“You cannot get into a climate solution by having something so drastic that you basically have no production system. We have to be imaginative in how we do this.” – Gilles Saindon.
News

Canadian agri-food scientists urged to switch tracks

A new federal strategy asks scientists to focus on sustainability and climate change rather than production

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Glacier FarmMedia – Agriculture and Agri-food Canada scientists have historically spent their time on things like improving yields, fighting crop diseases and increasing livestock feed efficiency — mostly agriculture production and risks to production. Now, their top priorities should be sustainable agriculture and climate change, says the department’s Strategic Plan for Science, a document released […] Read more
Researchers studied 149 lines of wheat to help determine which ones were less vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
News

Exotic wheat DNA helps breed ‘heat tolerant’ crops

Science Notes: Seeds sown later in season to force plants to grow in hotter months

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Research from the Earlham Institute in Norwich, England, in collaboration with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre in Mexico, offers hope for improving crop resilience and food security in the face of climate change.  Wheat provides more global calories than any other crop, yet most of the wheat grown around the world has limited […] Read more
Research could simplify process for calculating soil carbon credits
News

Research could simplify process for calculating soil carbon credits

Science Notes: Results indicate that expensive in-field soil sampling may not be required

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A study led by researchers at the Agroecosystem Sustainability Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign provides new insights for quantifying cropland carbon budgets and soil carbon credits, two important metrics for mitigating climate change. The results, outlined in a paper published in the soil science journal Geoderma, could simplify the process for calculating soil carbon […] Read more
A drone photo from the Sampona commune of Madagascar on Feb. 11, 2022, shows Zebu cattle drinking water from a large puddle created from Cyclone Batsirai. The island nation’s south has been experiencing severe drought for the past four years, putting it in danger of what the World Food Programme calls “the world’s first climate change famine.” (Photo: Reuters/Alkis Konstantinidis)

Last year tied as world’s fifth-warmest on record, U.S. scientists say

Global CO2 emissions continue to rise

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Brussels | Reuters — Last year was the world’s joint fifth-warmest on record and the last nine years were the nine warmest since pre-industrial times, putting the 2015 Paris Agreement’s goal to limit global warming to 1.5 C in serious jeopardy, U.S. scientists said on Thursday. Last year tied with 2015 as the fifth-warmest year […] Read more
(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feds open up consultations for sustainable ag strategy

Producer groups to have reps on advisory committee

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The federal government has enlisted farm groups on the ground floor of consultations toward development of a long-term strategy to “amplify” the adoption and use of sustainable practices in agriculture over the next year. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Dec. 12 announced the launch of public consultations on strategy development, running from now through March […] Read more
Simon Stiell, the United Nations’ executive secretary of framework convention on climate change, speaks at the closing plenary at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt Nov. 20.
News

Food systems must transform: COP27

Climate change meeting emphasized the need to look at specific production systems

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Glacier FarmMedia – Feeding eight billion people requires transformation of food systems, delegates to COP27 heard. Four initiatives to do that were announced at the most recent climate change conference held in Egypt. The conference noted the past year has been challenging. Thirty-seven million people face starvation in Africa after four consecutive droughts. Floods in […] Read more
The SWOT spacecraft is moved into a transport container inside the Astrotech facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base on Nov. 18, 2022. (Photo: USSF 30th Space Wing/Chris Okula)
Crops, Machinery

NASA to conduct first global water survey from space

Data would bolster weather and climate forecasts

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Los Angeles | Reuters — A NASA-led international satellite mission was set for blastoff from southern California early on Thursday on a major Earth science project to conduct a comprehensive survey of the world’s oceans, lakes and rivers for the first time. Dubbed SWOT, short for Surface Water and Ocean Topography, the advanced radar satellite […] Read more
UK farmer Stephen Briggs says adding trees to his landscape has built his farm’s resilience.
News

How mixing farms with forests can help nations reach net zero

Planting trees on working farms can curb emissions, boost income but money and time are barriers

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Thomson Reuters Foundation – Stephen Briggs popped open his pocket knife, carved a wedge from a small pink and green apple and took a bite. “Those are ready,” he said, looking at a nearby apple tree, one of 4,500 planted in neat rows through wheat fields on his farm near Peterborough, in eastern England. The […] Read more

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