Grain and Pork Producers Can Share Greenhouse Gas Reduction Benefits

A Swine Nutritionist with the University of Saskatchewan says, by utilizing coproducts, pork producers and grain producers can maximize the reduction of  their carbon footprints.

 

Researchers with the University of Saskatchewan examining the carbon footprint left when using high fibre feed ingredients, specifically wheat mill run and culled peas, in swine rations, have found when you consider the agronomic benefits and the decreased requirement for nitrogen fertilizer, we find an overall decrease in greenhouse gas output or the global warming potential of pork production.

 

Dr. Denise Beaulieu, an Assistant Professor Monogastric Nutrition with the College of Agriculture and Bioresources, says by choosing byproducts or ingredients with a focus on reducing greenhouse gas output both pork producers and grain producers can see benefits.

 

 

It's kind of like a win win because we're sharing the greenhouse gas output among the grain producers. For example growing wheat, some of this would be attributed to making the flour and some of it to the wheat mill run that we can then use to make pork so we're making better use of the inputs to that crop by using that crop completely.

 

Or, in the case of culled peas, if we use those peas to produce pork, then the inputs that went to grow those peas, we're actually producing pork from it. It becomes a win win both for the crop production side and also for the pork producers where we can show a lower footprint for pork production and so we can increase pork production without showing perhaps the same increase in global warming potential or greenhouse gases that we might see if we were using grains that had been grown only specifically to produce the pork.

Video: Dicamba Returns for Georgia Farmers: What the New EPA Ruling Means for Cotton Growers

After being unavailable in 2024 due to registration issues, dicamba products are returning for Georgia farmers this growing season — but under strict new conditions.

In this report from Tifton, Extension Weed Specialist Stanley Culpepper explains the updated EPA ruling, including new application limits, mandatory training requirements, and the need for a restricted use pesticide license. Among the key changes: a cap of two ½-pound applications per year and the required use of an approved volatility reduction agent with every application.

For Georgia cotton producers, the ruling is significant. According to Taylor Sills with the Georgia Cotton Commission, the vast majority of cotton planted in the state carries the dicamba-tolerant trait — meaning farmers had been paying for technology they couldn’t use.

While environmental groups have expressed concerns over spray drift, Georgia growers have reduced off-target pesticide movement by more than 91% over the past decade. Still, this two-year registration period will come with increased scrutiny, making stewardship and compliance more important than ever.