Ag-West annual meeting explores the role of agriculture in mitigating climate change

On June 25th join us online (2:00 pm CST) to discuss what the agriculture industry is doing to mitigate the effects of agricultural production on the climate, as well as the technologies and practices that have a positive effect. And, in an energy intensive industry like agriculture, what is the best energy source?

Climate change is constantly in the news and on everyone’s mind. We may be tired of hearing about it, but it isn’t going away, and the problems are not yet solved.

Agriculture is being pointed to as a cause of climate change. It is far from perfect and it does have a huge impact on the environment. It is not a ‘natural’ system: crops cover millions of acres of land, and greenhouse gas emissions come from cattle, fuel, and fertilizers. The public has been hearing a lot about the negatives, but not many positives.

How is the agriculture industry responding to the challenge?

Advanced technology allows us to use far less land to produce food, leaving more for nature. Technologies are being developed to mitigate the effects of agricultural production, or even reduce the greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Precision agriculture, efficient fertilizers and green house gas sequestration in plants and soils, forages that reduce methane emissions from cattle.

We have invited Dr. Steven Webb Executive Director & CEO of the Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS), and Dr. Bart Lardner, professor of Animal & Poultry Science, in the College of Agriculture and Bioresources at the University of Saskatchewan, to tell us about some of the interesting and innovative technologies under development.

As well, since the agriculture system is highly dependent on petroleum, we can’t ignore the question of energy sources: renewables, bioenergy, nuclear… what is the best way to go? We have invited Dr. Jason Donev, a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Calgary to explore the pros and cons of different energy sources in relation to agriculture. (Read biographies).

Ag-West Bio President and CEO Dr. Karen Churchill will serve as moderator for a Q&A after the presentations.

This event will follow directly after our annual meeting. Saskatchewan’s Minister of Agriculture David Marit will bring greetings and we have a surprise announcement!