Key Steps to Curb Carbon:

Overview

It all begins According to the “Risky Business Report“, which addresses climate change, Yields of corn, wheat, and other crops in the Midwest and South are likely to drop by more than 10 percent in the next ve to 25 years absent adaptation—and could decline by more than 20 percent in some counties.

The greenhouse gas emissions associated with food loss and waste are caused, but not limited to: On-farm agriculture emissions—including from the digestive systems of cows, manure from livestock, on-farm energy use and fertilizer emissions—for producing food that is ultimately lost or wasted;The production of electricity and heat used to manufacture and process the food that is ultimately lost or wasted;Energy used to transport, store and cook food that is ultimately lost or wasted;Landfill emissions from decaying foodThe emissions from land use change and deforestation associated with producing food that is ultimately lost or wasted.

Promoting Local, Sustainable Food

According to the Farmland Information Center, Kentucky has over 13 million acres of farmland, but statistics have shown a steady decline as land is developed.  The American Farmland Trust claims Kentucky loses about 45 acres of farmland per day.   According to a UN report, the energy that goes into the production, harvesting, transporting and packaging of wasted food, meanwhile, generates more than 3.3 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide.Two state marketing programs, Kentucky Proud and Appalachia Proud, raise the visibility of locally-produced foods.  The Kentucky Department of Agriculture also promotes the Buy Local program, focused on supplying local restaurants, and also programs to promote more local foods in Kentucky schools such as Farm to Campus and Farm to Schools.  The KDOA also does a good job in promoting local farmer’s markets throughout the state.Unfortunately, there is no standard accepted definition of what constitutes “local food,” and that can have a significant impact on strategies for limiting greenhouse gasses.  Agricultural production methods can have a significant impact on carbon generated.

Healthy Soils

Rotational Grazing,
Nutrient Management

Employing farm practices that rebuild organic matter, soil biodiversity and use smaller-scale, less nitrogen-intensive and organic farming methods are also good for CO2 reduction. Building organic matter through rotational grazing for example (the process of using only one portion of pasture to graze while the remainder “rests”) allows for healthier soils and for forage plants to renew. Healthy soils can help improve resilience to extreme weather events such as floods and droughts –making sustainable soil management a key factor in advancing climate goals.Excessive use of nitrogen fertilizers, especially by industrial-scale farming operations, can worsen an impact of climate change. Nutrient pollution is expected to cause more harmful algal blooms in waterbodies.The excessive use of high concentrations of nitrogen fertilizers in operations such as industrial-scale farming is increases complications that can have an impact on climate change. According to the EPA, scientists predict that climate change will have many effects on freshwater and marine environments. These effects, along with nutrient pollution, might cause harmful algal blooms to occur more often, in more waterbodies and to be more intense.  Therefore we encourage smaller-scale, less nitrogen-intensive and organic farming operations.