Farm-Scape is sponsored by Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork Play Audio Farm-Scape is a Wonderworks Canada production and is distributed courtesy of Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork.

Farm-Scape, Episode 1238

The Canadian Pork Council has kicked off an initiative which will establish sites across Canada to demonstrate how farmers can minimize greenhouse gas emissions.

The demonstration project is part of a greenhouse gas mitigation program for Canadian agriculture announced by the federal government in April 2002.

Canadian Pork Council Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Coordinator Cedric MacLeod says demonstration farms are being set up across Canada, many on existing research sites.

"In the prairie provinces we have several successful proponents. Alberta Pork, in association with the Alberta Taking Charge Team and reduced tillage linkages are going to be setting up four to six demonstration sites dealing specifically with hog manure management.

The same kind of idea in Saskatchewan involves the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute.

They're going to have a total nine different demonstration sites set up in association with existing extension sites that are generally managed by either Ag Canada or the government of Saskatchewan.

In Manitoba we have a few that are being established in association with DGH Engineering and one with the University of Manitoba.

Actually they're using hog manure to fertilize cattle pastures so that's a project we're pretty excited about.

The ones with DGH engineering will be demonstrating barn design issues or some BMPs, beneficial management practices, that we think have the potential to reduce ammonia emissions, to reduce energy usage in the barn and to be a little more efficient with the water in our barns and reducing the total volume of manure that has to be handled."

The demonstration sites are being set up now and MacLeod says a series producer field days is planned for this summer where producers can look at the various systems and management practices they can use to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.