SoilMate’s Weekly News Digest #16
Yara launches Agoro Carbon Alliance.
A leading provider of crop-feeding solutions is launching a global business created for farmers to generate additional revenue through positive climate change measures. Agoro Carbon will support farmers with agronomic experience to sequester carbon in the soil and reduce emissions from fields. Farmers who join Agoro Carbon can earn an additional sustainable income from carbon production by maintaining or increasing yields. Farmers can shift to climate-friendly methods best suited to their work and can choose the area to be planted for the program. Agoro Carbon Alliance registered farmers in Iowa, Nebraska, and Washington to participate in Agoro Carbon’s first projects, which will provide carbon credits to farmers in 2021.
A discovery that will help grow crops despite the drought.
Researchers at the University of California have found genetic data that will help food crops such as tomatoes and rice survive more lasting and intense periods of drought.
Over the past decade, the research team has tried to create a molecular atlas of crop roots in which plants first explore the effects of drought and other environmental threats. At the same time, they discovered genes that scientists can use to protect plants from these stresses. Their work allowed a high level of understanding of root functions, as it combined genetic data from different root cells of tomatoes grown indoors and outdoors.
A new study explains the relationship between heat stress and crop yield.
Scientists report that it is possible to detect and predict heat damage to crops by measuring the fluorescent light signature of plant leaves experiencing heat stress. According to researchers, if this fluorescent signal is obtained by satellite, it could contribute to the monitoring of crop growth and yields under the heat stress of climate change.
«The technique may provide a tool for breeders to identify more heat-resistant crops and help farmers select the best crops to grow in the U.S.,» said co-author Lisa Ainsworth, a plant biology professor and U.S. Department of Agriculture scientist at Illinois.
Organizations and businesses urge Congress to invest $200 billion in conservation.
More than 450 farm and rural development organizations and enterprises from around the country have called on Congress to invest more than $200 billion over ten years in support of Farm Bill conservation, research, renewable energy, foresty, as well as programs to ensure the regional food system and supply chain resilience programs.
In addition to significant investments in farm bill conservation, renewable energy, energy efficiency, forestry, and food system and supply chain resilience programs, research that improves knowledge of soil carbon sequestration and promotes a collective understanding of regional best practices in mitigating climate change helps farmers and ranchers to adapt to the various impacts of climate change across the U.S.
