Management practices & mitigation
Many of the farm management practices associated with reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are already well-known to agricultural producers in British Columbia. For example, no-till and low-till practices increase carbon sequestration in soils and this practice has been adopted by many BC farmers. The most recent phase of the Environmental Farm Plan and Beneficial Management Practices Programs includes a climate change component .
The 2009/2010 Beneficial Management Practices Program provides an opportunity for BC farmers to receive cost-share funding to adopt practices and/or technologies that reduce or remove greenhouse gas emissions.
courtesy Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC
The majority of individual agricultural operations in BC have relatively low (and diffuse) emissions but there are still opportunities to improve practices for emission reduction and to contribute to broader emission removals through sequestration. The farm management practices best suited to emission reduction will be specific to region and site.
A number of the practices associated with emission reduction, along with more detailed Resources are described below in Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and Removing greenhouse gas emissions. For a summary of practices please see Fact Sheet #3: Agriculture & Greenhouse Gas Mitigation. For general information regarding agriculture and greenhouse gas mitigation please visit the Mitigation portion of this site.
Resources for this topic
Third Edition EFP Reference Guide
BC Agriculture Research & Development Corporation
The Environmental Farm Plan Program utilizes a reference guide to support its assessments and implementation of beneficial management practices. Chapter 3 of the reference guide outlines livestock management practices. Chapters 4, 6 and 8 discuss crop management, soil amendment practices and management practices. Each of these sections has portions that are relevant to greenhouse gas mitigation.
Nutrient Management Reference Guide
Ministry of Agriculture and Lands
This reference guide is designed for agriculture producers to conduct a Nutrient Management Plan (NMP) on their farm. NMP is economically and environmentally beneficial for farmers to optimize their crop nutrient usage, while protecting valuable soil, water, and air resources.
Best Management Practices (BMP)
Climate Change Agricultural Awareness Project
The website for the Climate Change Agriculture Awareness Project (based out of New Brunswick) identifies a number of Best Management Practices (BMP) that are linked with reductions in agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. Topics include manure management, fertilizer management, soil conservation, forage in rotation, agroforestry and pasture management.
IPCC’s Climate Change 2007: Mitigation Ch. 8 “Agriculture”
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is widely respected as an authoritative source regarding global climate change issues. Its published materials are densely written but provide valuable background information. Chapter 8, "Agriculture", in Climate Change 2007: Mitigation of Climate Change outlines key mitigation technologies and practices for agriculture and provides a broad global perspective on the issues.
