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USDA’s climate change plan is designed to help farmers

 

By BEV BERENS

Michigan Correspondent

 

LANSING, Mich. — USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a comprehensive and detailed plan that will begin to help farmers, ranchers and forestland owners begin building a long-term strategy to keep their industries sustainable in spite of what the climate may be 50 years in the future.

The announcement was made during a press conference at Michigan State University on April 24. Ten general topics of conservation are included in the plan, with a major emphasis on soil health. Adaptation of new practices is voluntary; however, some may have incentive money attached to entice broad participation industry-wide.

This initiative’s goals are long-term and aggressive. In the agriculture section alone, implemented practices would reduce net carbon emissions by more than 120 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2025 – the equivalent of taking 25 million cars off the road and 2 percent of economy-wide net greenhouse emissions.

In connection with the press conference, 10 groups announced early commitments in support of the approach, including The Fertilizer Institute, Green Diamond Resource Co., The American Forest Foundation, Walt Disney and the Church Pension Group. Their partnerships will yield some investment dollars, research, planning, implementation and permanent job creation in the construction industry.

USDA Plant Hardiness Zone maps show an increasing shift of warm weather north in the continental United States. Where once it was difficult to profitably produce sunshine-loving crops such as corn, northern regions of the country are beginning to successfully grow varieties.

The soil health section calls for improving soil resilience and productivity through use of cover and forage crops. The goal is to nearly double the national acreage planted no-till from 67 million to more than 100 million acres. "We are supportive of this initiative," said Laura Campbell, Agricultural Ecology manager at the Michigan Farm Bureau. "Our member-driven policy calls for voluntary conservation efforts and to work with NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Service) to put conservation practices in place."

Campbell attended Vilsack’s press conference in late April. She said there appears to be widespread support from other farm and related business organizations. "The Michigan Agribusiness Association, the Fertilizer Institute and the Nature Conservancy were all represented, and to have all of us be in support of the same thing is good," she noted.

Big gains for forestry?

 

Forestry and wood products received significant attention in the plan. Forestry’s capacity to sequester carbon has great potential in both forest and urban settings. Warren Suchovski, owner of Suchovski Logging in Stephenson, Mich., is already working out some practices that may fit into the initiative.

Located in the heart of Michigan’s forestry country in the Upper Peninsula (U.P.), he is excited about the prospect of investments into systems that will use wood waste and fast-growing tree species like the hybrid aspen, which can be chipped and used to produce power.

For example, combined heat power (CHP) systems are an emerging opportunity for rural municipalities. The boiler system is powered using waste wood. Systems can provide both heat and electric for multiple buildings.

"Stephenson had the opportunity to install a CHP system that could have created energy for the school, senior center and an assisted living center. Unfortunately, they didn’t adopt it," Suchovski said. "It could have created a local outlet for a lot of small sawmills in the area to dispose of waste material."

Instead, he said the city continues to haul it away to other end users, sometimes at a distance of 100-plus miles round trip. In the past, much of the waste product ended up in landfills.

Tree plant species are experiencing the same northward migration seen in traditional row crops. In 20-30 years, Suchovski predicts black spruce, tamarac, jack pine and black cherry, now mainstays in the U.P., will move further north and be replaced by white pine, sugar maple and other species. "It is not going to happen overnight. It’s more like watching paint dry."

Marginal lands in the North Country that had once been cleared for farming but aren’t really suitable for growing crops could be brought back into production.

Nano-carbon technology is finding new ways to produce plastics from wood products. The materials created are being tested and used in building construction and automotive manufacturing. The technologies require some significant investment, but have great potential in creating long-term, industry-wide sustainability. "The technology is creating a product that is superior to steel that can be used in auto manufacturing," Suchovski said. "It is lighter and stronger and will decrease the weight of the vehicle which will improve mileage."

Refineries in some Scandinavian countries are converting a willow tree variety into bio-oil, which is used to make plastic currently manufactured with fossil fuels. "Wood is a very good building material and it leaves a much lower carbon footprint in producing it," he said. "This initiative has the potential to certainly create opportunity for loggers and sawmills. When we factor in the local distribution possibilities, the benefits, especially to rural communities, multiplies itself up the line. More opportunities at the production level lead to loggers needing another truck or piece of equipment. Then they need tires, repairs and more fuel. Everyone benefits."

5/6/2015