Vern Baron. Canola Footprint On The Farm

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1 Vern Baron Canola Footprint On The Farm Dec. 5, 2012

2 Outline Introduction Definition of Terms Does management Impact GHG intensity? Production Economics GHG Intensity with and without C-sequestration. Summary

3 Canola Production 6-8 million ha 12 million tonnes

4 Positive Prairie and Canola Attributes Leading to Sustainable Crop Production Land Management Decreasing summerfallow area Reduced Tillage on 75% area Reduced Fossil fuel required

5 Positive Prairie and Canola Attributes Leading to Sustainable Crop Production Inputs: Efficient N-Fertilizer Production Little ammonium nitrate fertilizer used Canola: Full season hybrids Herbicide Resistance, reducing chemical usage

6 A Carbon Footprint is? All greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by a product during the production process in terms of CO 2 within a defined boundary. 1 CO 2 = 3.66 C; 1 N 2 O = 298 CO 2 ; CH 4 = 24 CO 2 Boundary is within the farm gate (cradle to gate).

7 The Functional Unit: GWP per unit seed weight: kg CO 2 e / kg seed wt. on farm C-footprint Range: 0.25 to 2.00 kg CO 2 e / kg seed GWP per unit seed energy: kg CO 2 e / GJ seed on farm energy-footprint Range: 25 to 80? kg CO 2 e / GJ seed GWP per unit of biodiesel fuel: kg CO 2 e / L of biodiesel: production and process through life cycle of canola biodiesel from LCA software like Ghgenius. e.g kg CO 2 e / L of biodiesel

8 Greenhouse Gas Intensity For Selected Commodities Illustrating Difference in Size Per Functional Unit at Farm Gate Crop/Animal Species Functional Unit Emission* 1 kg kg CO 2 e Reference Beef (cow-calf) carcass 22.0 Beauchemin et al. (2010) Dairy milk 0.91 Dyer et al. (2008) Canola seed 0.25 Strange et al. (2008) *Greenhouse gas intensity not including C-sequestration or loss.

9 Does Management and Location Affect Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Intensity? Oilseed Species Across Soil Zones, SK. Planting Date and Species Lacombe, AB Location Emission/ha GHG Intensity (Soil Zones) kg CO 2 /ha kg CO 2 / kg seed Melfort Scott Swift Current After Gan et al. (2012); average of n= 5 of mustard and canola. Crop Syst. Emission/ha GHG Intensity kg CO 2 /ha kg CO 2 / kg seed Early P. barley Early P. canola Late P. canola Field scale early planted barley and canola and late planted canola, Neither study includes emissions due to soil or ecosystem carbon inputs and outputs.

10 Field-Scale C-Footprint for Canola and Barley

11 Objective: To determine the carbon footprint of early and late planted canola and barley on a field scale in a highly productive canola growing area using prevalent on-farm practice. Hypothesis: Early-planted full season canola will provide the most sustainable on-farm carbon footprint. High Yield with BMP is a sustainable approach. Late planting is a Plan B and not sustainable even with lower inputs.

12 Seed Yield, Oil, Protein, Carbohydrate Concentration and Energy Density of Seed Harvested, 2011 Crop Syst. Seed Yield* Oil Protein Carbohydrate Gross Energy Mg ha -1 g kg -1 MJ kg -1 E. barley E. canola L. canola * Yield is 73, 59 and 33 bu./acre for E. barley, E. canola and L. canola.

13 Production Costs, Gross and Net Revenue ($ ha -1 ) for Early Planted Canola and Barley and Late Planted Canola $ ha Costs G. Revenue Net Revenue 0 E. Barley E. Canola L. Canola

14 Summary of Cropping Systems Sources, Sinks and Products Energy Source Annual Soil/Crop Sink/Source CO 2 x 1 CO 2 x 1 N 2 O x 298 Farm Boundary Crop Product Equipment Manufacture Transportation Packaging Inputs Fertilizer Herbicide Pesticide Seed Operations Fuel Lube Crop Photosynthesis Ecosystem Respiration Soil Residue Root Crop Net Eco-system Sequestration Loss Direct Eco-district: Soil N-Inputs Fert.-N Residue-N Root-N Indirect Volatilization Leaching Seed Yield Dry matter Energy Carbon Nitrogen Root & Residue Dry matter Energy Carbon Nitrogen

15 Greenhouse Gas Emissions (kg CO 2 e. ha -1 ) for N 2 O and Crop Production CO Total Emissions % 69% 76% E. Barley E. Canola L. Canola C-sequestration, C- inputs and losses not included N2O Production CO2

16 Annual Nitrous Oxide Emission and the Contributions of Various N Sources Crop Syst. N 2 O* Root Residue Fertilizer- N CO 2 e ha -1 Total-N Contribution kg-n ha -1 E. barley (60%) 131 E. canola (59%) 189 L. canola (37%) 194 *IPCC (2006)

17 Three-Yr. Cumulative N 2 O (g N ha -1 ) Loss by Rotation, Scott, SK g N ha Annual canola N 2 O Emission at Lacombe Close to these values Cont. Pea Cont. Wt (-N) Pea-Wt. Cont Wt (+N) Canola - Wt. R. Lemke

18 Net Ecosystem Carbon Dioxide Eddy Covariance System in each field determines CO 2 flux 365 d yr -1

19 Greenhouse Gas Emissions (kg CO 2 e. ha -1 ) for N 2 O, Crop Production CO 2 and Net Ecosystem (NEE) CO Total Emissions N2O Production CO2 NEE-CO2 0 E. Barley E. Canola L. Canola

20 40 Accumulated Growing Season CO 2 Flux + axis = net sequestration 99 d CO 2 accumulation g m Sufficient leaf area is required for CO 2 uptake to offset respiration April May June July August Sept Oct Early Planting Late Planting 94 d CO 2 accumulation d CO 2 accumulation Axis = net respiration LAI = Barley Early Canola Late Canola

21 Impacts of Retaining C-loss in Computation of Greenhouse Gas Intensity Cropping Syst. GHG Intensity W/O Carbon W Carbon kg CO 2 /kg seed Early Barley Early Canola Late Canola

22 Greenhouse Gas Intensity and Energy Efficiency of the Cropping Systems Greenhouse Gas Intensity Functional Unit Seed Dry Wt. Seed Energy Energy Efficiency kg CO 2 e / kg seed kg CO 2 e GJ -1 seed Energy product: Invested Early barley Early canola Late canola

23 Radar Chart Analyses For Multiple Factors GHG Intensity - Energy Yield GHG Intensity - DM Yield DM Yield E. Barley Cost E. Canola Profit Emission - Soil C L. Canola Energy Density (seed) Emission - N2O Emission energy - CO2

24 Summary Early planting can result in high yield and low GHG intensity on a functional unit basis. Late planting may result in a greater GHG emission loss per unit product. Canola may emit more N 2 O than cereal crops (reason unknown). Early-planted full-season canola is as effective in maintaining ecosystem CO 2 as early-planted barley.

27 Alberta Saskatchewan Manitoba Beaverlodge Edmonton Lacombe Melfort Lethbridge Indina Head Soil types: Swift Current Gray Dark Gray Black Brandon Dark Brown Brown

28 Canadian Prairie Canola - Ave. Annual Production (Million Tonnes) Hectares: 3.0 million 6.5 million

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