Pathway to 2040

Pathway to 2040 is the PEI Federation of Agriculture’s plan to lead the sector on climate action while ensuring a robust and successful industry that continues to drive the provincial economy. Pathway to 2040 outlines the BMPs Island farmers can put to work and assesses the impact they will have on the industry’s emissions.

Projected Annual GHG Emissions for PEI Agriculture with BMP Implementation

Annual GHG Emissions Relative to Net Zero Targets Based on BMP Implementation Timeline and Adoption Scenarios

Best Management Practices

The opportunities available for reducing emissions are different for growing crops and raising livestock.

Potential GHG Reductions FROM Cropping BMPs

Crops

Reduced Nitrogen Use

Optimizing nutrient use efficiency, especially for nitrogen fertilizers is shown to reduce N2O emissions. The use of slow-release fertilizers combined with rate reductions and biological nitrogen supply testing has resulted in N2O reductions.

Increased Cover Cropping

Cover cropping extends root growth longer into the cool season allowing plants to sequester more GHGs into the soil.

Reduced Tillage

Decreasing soil disturbance and slowing down decomposition of soil carbon can add up to 0.4 mt of soil Carbon per hectare per year.

Increased Rotation Length

Improved rotations can add up to 1 tonne of soil carbon for evert hectare each year.

Livestock

Potential GHG Reductions From Livestock BMPs

Animal Housing

Improved grazing practices can lead to emission reductions through intensive management (stocking rates and density, paddock design) and productivity maximization (cultivar selection, nutrient management).

Animal Diet

Improved diet, vaccines, and feed quality can lead to methane reductions from ruminant animals such as cattle and sheep. Adding asparagopsis to feed has been found to reduce methane emissions in lactating dairy cattle by 50%.

Manure Management

Adding sulfur to liquid manure can significantly reduce emissions. liquid manure or solid manure incorporated properly can lead directly to reduction in required nitrogen fertilizer use.