Happy World Earth Day! Celebrated on April 22 each year, World Earth Day is dedicated to encouraging sustainable practices and stimulating conversations about climate concerns.
Although important to discuss, conversations about climate change can take a turn when unjust blame is given. Far too often the agriculture industry is unfairly accused of harming our earth when others forget how much farmers truly care for the land they steward. After all, land is a farmer’s most valuable commodity... why would they want to damage it?
Farmers understand that having a profitable and sustainable business requires taking care of their natural resources in order for it to last generation upon generation.
So, while World Earth Day is a great time to spread awareness about environmental issues, it's also the perfect occasion to celebrate the ways that agriculture is supporting our earth.
Here are 7 ways that farmers give back to our environment:
1. Using Sustainable Land Practices
Research-supported farming methods continue to be developed to minimize disturbances to farmland and keep soil healthy. Some of these practices include in-field winter grazing, rotational grazing, winter cover crops, and shelterbelts.
These processes have been widely implemented across the agriculture sector and continue to increase each year. Since 2015, the percentage of farms that reported using sustainable land practices have increased from 53.7% to 64.5%.
2. Producing Renewable Energy
As farms account for a significant amount land use in Canada, farmers are learning more ways to use this land for producing renewable energy such as solar energy.
Canadian farms that generate renewable energy has more than doubled in the 5 past years, resulting in a total of 22,576 farmers being involved in renewable energy production.
3. Conserving Water
Water is an incredibly important resource on our planet, and especially for agriculture. For that reason, the agriculture industry continues to advance the ways that they can save water and keep it clean.
On top of creating water reservoirs, farmers conserve fresh water by choosing to plant drought-tolerant crops such as barley. Additionally, research continues to be done to identify which crops to plant such as a recent study that highlighted the water-saving qualities of camelina.
4. Preventing Soil Erosion & Increasing Soil Fertility
In addition to designing the land to conserve water, farmers will also intentionally create swales and other earthworks to keep nutrients in their soil, a benefit for both their crops and the environment.
Farmers also prevent soil erosion by implementing perennial systems in their fields. These crops are kept in the field for multiple years and are managed by selective harvesting. Practices like these establish deep roots in the soil that prevent erosion.
Other commonly implemented techniques include low or no till, crop rotation, and application of compost. These practices minimize disturbances to the soil to keep it healthy and encourage biodiversity that makes the soil more fertile.
5. Reducing Carbon Dioxide
Think back to when you learned about photosynthesis... remember how plants remove carbon dioxide from the air and release oxygen? This process happens on a large scale every time a farmer plants their crops for the year. The more plant cover there is, the more carbon dioxide is used.
Additionally, soil can contain carbon within itself and will do so more when the soil is not disturbed. This is another reason why no or low till options are great practices that farmers have implemented.
6. Creating Natural Fuels
Not only does farming feed our world, but it is also responsible for producing other materials including sustainable and renewable fuels.
For example, ethanol is a non-toxic and biodegradable fuel that reduces emissions from cars. The best part... this is only possible with the help of agriculture as ethanol is made from corn!
7. Implementing Efficient Technology
The development and application of technologies like guidance steering systems and geographic information mapping systems have increased by 28.2% and 58.6% respectively since the last Canadian Census of Agriculture.
These technologies have allowed farmers to save time and reduce their amount of fuel, fertilizer, and pesticide usage and become overall more sustainable!
Although this is not an exhaustive list, these are some of the ways that farmers continue to think about the environment and help better our future. Happy Earth Day!