MSU to study greenhouse gases

Montana State University is one of nine universities and a national lab taking part
in a national study to see if changes in farming and forestry practices can help reduce greenhouse
gases.

Associated Press Billings Gazette

"We’re trying to put together the pieces of the puzzle," said John Antle, a Montana State University
agricultural economist.
The work could give farmers a new "crop" to sell: carbon emissions credits. A wheat farmer in Montana
who uses farming practices that keep carbon gas in the soil could sell carbon emission credits to a factory in
the Midwest.

The $15 million study could help create a new market in which agriculture is "a producer not just of food
commodities but of environmental services," Antle said.

To Antle, using no-till practices to keep carbon in the soil – called carbon sequestration – is just one
example of how farmers can lessen the effects of farming on the environment.
Antle helped create a "trade-off analysis" computer program that can simulate the complex variables
present in a wide variety of environmental problems.
He has used the model to evaluate pesticide use by potato farmers in Ecuador and is evaluating soil
rebuilding efforts in Africa.

"The whole issue of sustainable agriculture is about understanding the system better," Antle said. "If we
really understood how it worked, we wouldn’t do unsustainable practices on purpose."
For example, using less pesticide could result in lower crop yields, but improve water quality.
"Is that a trade-off farmers want to impose on themselves, or is that a trade-off consumers and
governments want to impose on farmers?" Antle asked.

Some farmers in the Northwest already have signed up for a pilot project in which they can receive cash
credits for cutting carbon emissions.
No-till farming is one focus of the study. No-till techniques involve planting seed in the stubble of the
preceding crop, leaving the soil undisturbed. The practice releases less carbon gas into the atmosphere.

But no-till farming has not caught on well on Montana’s high, arid plains, said Perry Miller, an agronomist at
MSU.
A change in farming practices, such as switching to no-till, generally costs money for new equipment and
usually entails some risk, he said. New techniques may not always work as well as traditional methods.
But Antle said if his model can demonstrate environmental advantages of sustainable agriculture, farmers
could receive payments for adopting better practices. The cash can help them offset costs and short-term risk,
he said.

The other schools taking part in the study are Colorado State University, Iowa State University, Kansas
State University, Michigan State University, Ohio State University, Purdue University, Texas A&M University and
the University of Nebraska.

Copyright 2002 Associated Press.

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