How can the individual farmer reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
Advisers from the Knowledge Centre for Agriculture have found a definite answer to that question by visiting four farms in Denmark and studying how they could organise production in a more climate friendly way.
-There are many reports, where researchers have concluded in general, what agriculture can do to reduce emission of greenhouse gases. Our job is to see what can be done in practice. What the farmer can do on the individual farm to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases” explains senior adviser Søren Kolind Hviid, The Knowledge Centre, Crop Production.
He is part of the adviser team working on the project, “Reduction of the effects of agriculture on the climate”, which shall determine and disseminate the relationship between different types of agriculture production and emissions of greenhouse gases.
A part of the project is based on “Climate farm studies” which involves studies on 4 farms, takes up distinct topics and comes up with proposals as to how a farmer can change part of the production thus reducing effects on climate.
One of the four farms that the advisers from the Knowledge Centre visited was the organic farm Maries Minde near Varde.
The farmer, Heino Mølholm Hansen, had already prior to the visit a number of proposals as to how he could make his production more environmentally friendly, for example wind turbine, solar cells and maintenance of meadows.
- We spoke about initiatives that I had already taken and proposals for the future. It is important that we are concerned about energy consumption and CO2”, says Heino Mølholm Hansen.
Following on from the visits to the 4 farms the advisers prepared a report for each farm describing the relevant topics.
The project will present, as an output, a catalogue of specific steps that famers can adopt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Facts:
Climate farm studies is a part of a project entitled “Reduction of the effects of agriculture on the climate” financed by EU and the Danish Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries with Land District Development funds and funds from “The Promille” tax fund.
How much greenhouse gas is produced varies significantly with different methods of agricultural production. Selection of crop, fertilising, cultivation and livestock housing system are just a few of the factors that affect emissions.