Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's (AAFC) latest annual overview of the industry has a good story to tell for farmers' environmental footprint.
Kara Beckles, AAFC's director of industry and economic analysis, says the total greenhouse gases (GHG) from the sector have decreased over time. She says while GHG emissions have increased from animal and crop production, new farming practices such as zero till have sequestered more carbon in the soil.
"The second part to that story, which is even more interesting, I find, is when you look at carbon intensity," Beckles says, "so that's the amount of emissions the sector produces compared to the value of the output that's going out. That has decreased even more quickly because as the sector produces more and more food essentially, the emissions aren't going up with that increased production, they're actually going down."
Source : Portageonline