Twenty years ago, farming’s carbon footprint was not a main item of debate, but today that has changed. Farmers want to know how governmental regulations will affect them. Alltech took a closer look at this issue during a breakout session at the Alltech 29th Annual International Symposium, which was held May 19-22 in Lexington, Kentucky.

“Sometimes, as an industry, I feel like we have our heads in the sand,” said Pearce Lyons, founder and president of Alltech.

“And sometimes I think, as an industry, we don’t tackle the problems until they are right on top of us. I wonder when the environment, carbon footprint, carbon charges will be a case like that.

“What would happen if, in fact, we did something different,” Lyons said, “and we would become the first industry to really grasp this challenge – this opportunity?”

Lyons’ company is creating systems where they can audit current situations, analyze feed for potential gas production, recommend change, re-test and audit again in six months. These systems will help businesses and farms to see what is being done correctly, where improvements can be made and if these changes did work.

“We see this, over the next two years, as being one of our key ways to work with our industry,” Lyons said.

After Lyons addressed the crowd, a group of five speakers spoke about carbon footprints: how they affect farmers, what can be done about them and what else needs to be researched to decrease emissions.

“The goal I have with the research in my lab is to feed the growing population without depleting natural resources and to grow intensively but in a sustainable manner,” said Frank Mitloehner, University of California – Davis.

Natural resources are what limits agriculture. Mitloehner explained that, since we cannot increase our natural resources, we must increase efficiency, not just in the U.S. but in countries all over the world. He said the developed world is starting to plateau on greenhouse gas emissions.

“What we have found working in developed countries has to be done in other parts of the world,” Mitloehner said.

Professionals are starting to say that sustainable intensification is key. This includes:

• Production intensity enhances biological efficiency.

• Production and emission intensity are inversely related.

■ When production per animal goes up, the emission per animal goes down.

■ “People think the more intensive you are, the greater your carbon footprint,” Mitloehner said, “when, in fact, the opposite is true.”

• High-production intensities are controversial.

■ Growth hormone

■ Housing

■ “Whether these make sense to you is not important, it’s whether or not you can sell it to the public that is buying your products,” Mitloehner said.

Mitloehner also outlined the five pillars of sustainability; each need to be considered, and not just to look for greater efficiencies.

• Environment quality (carbon footprint)

• Animal welfare

• Food safety

• Capable workforce

• Economic viability

Mitloehner concluded by describing how 65 percent of Californians voted that they did not want hens in cages. Farmers are asking what to do and industry people do not know what to tell them.

“Industry has to go to the forefront and find out what they need to do; what is acceptable from a society standpoint,” he said.

Aidan Cotter is the CEO of the Irish Food Board. He focused on what Ireland is doing to become a carbon-neutral country in food and drink production.

“Agriculture will be required to expand production by 70 percent over the next four decades,” Cotter said, “at the same time the world needs to decrease greenhouse gas emissions by almost a similar quantity.”

By 2016, all of Ireland’s exports for food and drink will come from farms and businesses that have signed up for a sustainability initiative. Cotter believes this is easier for Ireland to do because it is a smaller country.

“We are uniquely positioned to do things larger countries can’t do,” Cotter said. “We are, in effect, taking a national approach to making the whole supply chain, across all of the sectors in which we export, sustainable.”

Four conditions Cotter believes are necessary to become world leaders in sustainability for farmers and any business are:

• Every farm and business signs up for the sustainability initiative.

• Measure what matters because if we don’t measure, we can’t manage.

• Measure in a way that people will notice what you are doing.

• Get feedback and make continuous improvements.

These conditions can be executed and evaluated by services provided through the website Origin Green Sustainability , created by the Irish Food Board. Two ways farm sustainability is being checked is by animal identification and genetics.

Farmers can put in grazing season, age at first calving and live weight gain to determine their greenhouse gas emissions.

During the question-and-answer section, Mitloehner was asked about methane electricity. He thinks it can be part of the future but not using only manure because biogas production would be small.

“In my opinion, one of the ways into the future is to see ways to make livestock agriculture part of the bigger picture by using co-digestion with food waste, yard clippings, paper, cardboard and so on,” he said. “Incorporating manure really generates the energy of the stuff you put into the digester.”

One-third of the food produced in a country like this goes to landfills, Mitloehner said. Waste food would be more efficient by going into digesters with the animal manure to produce methane electricity.

Many people want to know when the carbon tax is coming, but Mitloehner is not concerned.

“I don’t see a carbon tax coming along in the near future, particularly for agriculture,” Mitloehner said.

Peter Darlington, environmental adviser to the agriculture industry, has started developing software to test individual farms’ carbon footprint. The software collects information and measures business performance in order to establish a baseline. Once evaluated, the business is monitored to see if improvements are made.

“We have a job to educate consumers about where their food comes from and what a good job we do,” Darlington said. “It is in our hands to use this as an opportunity to promote and position our industry.”

Darlington believes climate change is not something for farmers to run away from but as something to say farmers are doing a good job at.

Dave Kuehnel, president of Milk Products, says calf growth programs can maximize performance and improve dairy sustainability.

If producers would “fire” the bottom 10 percent of heifer calves based on genetics, instead of waiting until they calved in, they could focus more time on the better animals. Offspring will be similar to their parents, so if the dam does not breed back easily, her calf will probably follow suit.

Even at weaning time, farmers can look at the calves. Those calves that are smaller will produce less than the larger calves when coming from the same system.

Kuehnel believes that technology and data collection will continue to help producers of all sizes know which calves to keep.

Culling the bottom 10 percent of the milking herd will increase the volume of milk shipped within the next week. Cows will have more bunk space, less competition and have a higher level of comfort.

Kuehnel wonders if the dairy industry would be better off crossbreeding or breeding for smaller mature size. Would the dairy industry be better off receiving a few pounds less milk and having a cow that weighed 300 pounds less?

Kamal Mjoun is involved with ruminant research at Alltech. He has looked at rumen fermentation and major factors causing methane emissions.

“The goal is to affect the methane output without adverse effects on digestibility and microbial biomass production in the rumen.”

Mjoun’s research has showed that feeding Optigen, an Alltech product, instead of soybean meal, can decrease methane emissions by 10 percent.

The concepts of carbon footprint and efficiency have and will continue to change throughout time. However, one thing will remain the same: Farmers produce a product that needs a buyer. If farmers sit back and let others talk for them, they will have difficulty communicating with their consumers.

“Kids have no clue where their food comes from,” Mitloehner said. “They are easy victims to activists who tell them where their food comes from. In my opinion, it is time for you to tell people where their food comes from. If there are areas you don’t want to talk about, then those areas need the most focus. This is everyone’s responsibility.” PD

Waldeck is a former Progressive Dairyman editorial intern.

PHOTO
From left to right: Peter Darlington, Dave Kuehnel and Kamal Mjoun listen and respond to questions after their presentations. Photo courtesy of Ariel Waldeck.