Greenhouse Gas Calculator testing workshop

Featuring Adam Hayes, Don McCabe & Peter Johnson, lunch is included, no charge for workshop

The Soil Conservation Council of Canada (SCCC), the face and voice of soil conservation in Canada, will be evaluating a new computer-based tool designed to help agricultural producers identify opportunities to calculate and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on their operations.

Holos, a greenhouse gas calculator designed by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), analyzes a range of on-farm conservation management scenarios and determines potential reductions in GHG emissions. It is being evaluated by SCCC's Taking Charge Teams across Canada, who will test the program by plugging in real data provided by farmers. They will then report their findings to AAFC, who will modify the program into a final version for field use.

Holos covers various conservation practices such as reduced or zero tillage, rotations with perennial forages, tree planting, riparian buffers and nitrogen management, says SCCC executive director Glen Shaw. "At a time when the agricultural industry is under pressure to reduce its carbon-based emissions, this tool offers producers the opportunity to identify and set specific reduction goals," he says.

In Ontario, the Taking Charge Team led by OSCIA Director Alan Kruszel, has been performing some extension activities to raise awareness of the Holos Project. In partnership with other team members from Innovative Farmers Association of Ontario and OMAFRA, they will be setting up a series of Holos testing workshops throughout the month of March to give producers a chance to try out the software, and try a few mitigation practices to see what impact those practices may have on their operation's emissions. A local workshop for the Thames Valley Region of OSCIA will be held Friday, March 19 in Delaware. For more information, or to register for this workshop, contact Regional Communications Coordinator Cathy Dibble @ 519-463-6374 or email cathy.dibble@ontariosoilcrop.org