Agriculture’s efforts towards carbon neutrality

Expert Austin Gellings, the director of agricultural services with the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, shares farmers and ranchers' efforts to carbon neutrality in the field and farm management practices. Farm Food Facts host Joanna Guza discusses what types of equipment is being used, which part of agriculture has the biggest impact, challenges, data protection and future trends. 

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Transcript

Joanna Guza:
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Joanna Guza:
Welcome back to Farm + Food + Facts, brought to you by the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers in Action, where it's our mission to bring all of American agriculture together with farmers and ranchers at the center to collectively identify and tackle critical long-term issues. We have been hearing a lot of dialogue around carbon neutrality and USFRA is engaged on this topic. Our expert today is Austin Gellings, director of Agricultural Services with the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, and we will discuss agriculture's efforts to carbon neutrality. What equipment is being used, what quote unquote departments on the farm have the biggest impact, challenges farm data, consumer impacts, and future trends. Well, to get started, Austin, from your viewpoint, can you provide an overview of agriculture's efforts to carbon neutrality?

Austin Gellings:
There's a lot going on in agriculture right now in terms of efforts to reach carbon neutrality. I think the first thing when we look at it, it starts really in the field and minimizing the disturbance of the soil, whether that's through no-till or minimum tillage systems, and then how can we incorporate organic matter back into that soil using systems like cover crops and so on. And when you even look at the animal side of things with rotational grazing and such, a lot of that focused too is how can we minimize the, the disturbance of the soil, making sure that we're not grazing all the way down to the dirt, but rather grazing with to an ex certain extent and then moving our animals forward while also giving, you know, the benefit of those animals being able to incorporate some of that organic plant matter back into the soil.

Um, whether that's through just their natural process of their hooves, pushing it into the ground, um, or through their manure as well. And that's really the focus beyond the, that kind of incorporation and, and soil disturbance side of things, there's also just the efficiency side of things. There's also a big push to do more with less. And when you look at precision agriculture and some of the efforts going on there, a lot of that leads to less carbon as well. When you're doing, being more efficient and doing less passes on the field and applying less things to the field, those also have a big impact in terms of carbon neutrality. And then when you look at the actual equipment itself and the more and the efficiency that the these engines have now, whether it's, you know, a normal diesel engine or even looking at some of the alternative options that are starting to come about, and then that's not even taken into account through precision agriculture, the gathering of data to then start to verify this good work that we're doing and capture the data when we talk about carbon capture through no-till through cover crops, those things, using that data to kind of prove that out and be able to tell our story and convince people that we're, we're doing what we're saying we're doing.

Joanna Guza:
So Austin just gave a whole pile of answers there, but we'll get his insight on which is gonna have the biggest impact. But before we dive into that question, Austin, what type of equipment is being used to support farmers with achieving net zero?

Austin Gellings:
Just to start off, when we're talking tillage, you look at the different types of tillage equipment, you know, I mentioned you've got things like no-till you've also got the other types of equipment that would kind of fall under that minimum till category, maybe breaking up the soil just a little bit. But that helps with things like incorporation as well. And there are different reasons to use those different types of equipment and those different types of practices. Also, the big thing as well is using equipment that is equipped to gather data, precision agricultural type of equipment that can gather data, provide you better insights into your operation where you can see we're already making those impacts or there's room and opportunity to make those impacts as well. And that doesn't just apply to that row crop side of things. And you can also translate that over to the animal agriculture side of things where you have insights into your animals insights into maybe we've had our herd on this plot of land for this long, and hey, maybe it's time to, to move it over so that we don't move them to a different pasture so we're not overgrazing or things like that.

I would say that's, you know, top of mind is, is using those different types of precision ag technologies and that's a very large bucket. Lots of things fall under that, but to really start to gain those data insights that then help us make these better decisions and also prove out what we're doing as well. When we talk about carbon and, and getting, getting into the carbon market side of things, the data becomes very key into telling that story of what we're doing and provide us the insights into where we could maybe be doing a little bit better as well.

Joanna Guza:
So, Austin, going a little off script, does artificial intelligence play a role in achieving net zero?

Austin Gellings:
I think 100%. I  think that artificial intelligence will play hand in hand with, when it comes to data, evaluating that data and helping us make decisions. That's the thing, uh, you know, farmers want to farm. Um, and, and when it comes to gathering these large amounts of data and then analyzing these large amount of data and making decisions based off of that art, that's where artificial intelligence can really help us, is taking a deep dive into that data to pull out some really useful insights that are actionable and that that farmer can then pick up and incorporate into their operation.

Joanna Guza:
I think this is gonna put us leaps and years ahead of ourselves just because we're able to analyze data so much more quickly because of artificial intelligence. Now, we've talked about farm management, you talked about some practices in the field. I know genetics also play a big role in helping farmers reduce their carbon footprint. If we were to look at all the, you know, like I said, quote unquote departments on a farm, which one do you think has the biggest impact with reaching carbon neutrality?

Austin Gellings:
That's a tough question because I think they all have a very important role to play and, and they're so intertwined as well. I mean, when you look at technology just as an example, right, that we just talked about that data piece a little bit, but that data piece that where it's pulling that data from the things that you're doing within your operation, that then helps you make better decisions on your genetics, which then can have a very close and direct impact on things like carbon neutrality, whether it's plant genetics, animal genetics, all of the above. They play hand in hand with one another. And same can be said with farm practices. And so I don't know if there's any one area where you, you could say, Hey, I want to make a difference in in, in my carbon output, so I'm gonna focus in on this area of my farming operation.

I think really it's a matter of, um, what's your farm best equipped to do, um, what's, what's, you know, your farm best equipped to kind of focus in on. It's kind of a chicken and the egg situation as well, just a little bit because where do I start? Do I start with my farm management practices and, and incorporate and changing that up a little bit? Do I start with the genetics piece? I think from, you know, my side of things, technology is maybe where things start and then it kind of helps feed into those other areas again because of those data insights that it provides to help you make some better decisions in those other areas. And as well, when we talk about farm management practices and things like that, oftentimes you need technology and equipment to, to begin to incorporate some of those as well. I would say they're all equally important, but technology may be a useful place to start to help streamline those other areas. <laugh>,

Joanna Guza:
I'm laughing because, you know, when I was preparing for this interview, I thought I am not gonna let him say all of them <laugh>. And, and, and here's, here's my stance on one of these. I feel like when I've been learning about which, which department's gonna make the biggest impact, I feel like when we talk about crops and carbon, that's the most measurable. You know, when we look at some of those farm management practices, I don't know if we have a really good measurement tool to be tracking that. So it seems like a lot of people are doing that focus on the tillage, the cover crops, you know, those types of practices. Could you speak to that, that you've probably seen more being done in the field versus actual farm practices?

Austin Gellings:
Well, you're 100% right and I think that's, that's where the focus has continued to be and that's where we have the data. And I, I would say you back to a little bit of our earlier conversation when we talk about ai, that's an area where maybe that can start to help us with our farm management practices as well because, you know, with the data's probably there and, and the decisions are probably there to be made, but it's just starting to help us understand that a little bit. I think you're co you're completely right, you know, as of right now the focus has really been on that genetics side and, and the in the field type of type of stuff. And so that's the kind of easy place to start. But I think there's plenty of opportunity on that backend as well.

Joanna Guza:
I know we're both from America's dairy land, so there we're tracking dairy cattle every step of the way. We know so much about them. I'm curious from your perspective, are there any other categories or, um, different types of species that you guys are tracking just as much as dairy cattle or our dairy cattle, kind of our prize child and then every other commodity kind of follows?

Austin Gellings:
I would say from, especially from that animal side, I, I would say dairy maybe along with beef as well, working, uh, both work with cattle are really, really helping to lead the way from that animal side that that's not to say the, the pork folks are right behind. They're doing some, some amazing, amazing work. Same can be said with poultry. I'm a poultry farmer myself actually. There's a lot of good work going on in in those other areas. But in terms of, you know, taking those insights, understanding your operation from start to end and really being able to make some key decisions, um, those are two, the dairy and beef industries are two that are doing some really good work. And that good work is, um, exemplified by the fact that they're, they were the first two to, to pledge to climate neutrality. And I think that's because they have such a good understand and deep understanding of their operations. They have those data insights and they were some of the early adopters in a really incorporating technology into their operations to better understand their animals, better understand what's being put into their animals and what's coming out of their animals as well.

Joanna Guza:
A lot of optimism in, in this space. But we know that with every opportunity comes challenges, you know, what challenges have we faced and what do you think's to come?

Austin Gellings:
I think that, you know, some of the challenges is just proving out and understanding some of these things. I I think that there's still some debate, especially when we talk to, you know, the carbon side of things. How do we actually measure carbon, um, in a unified way across the industry? That's a challenge that's been there and it is still here today. And I think that, you know, we're getting closer and we're getting better, better with that. I would say the other side of it as well is working with our external stakeholders to build trust in all of that work. Also, we wanna build trust that agriculture's doing the right thing and within the general public there may be some skepticism about that and agriculture sometimes gets a bad rap, um, in terms from that environmental sustainability standpoint. Whereas internally to the industry, we know we're doing a lot of good things.

And so just how can we be better about continuing to tell that story and helping lead the conversation. 'cause so often, you know, we've been late to the table and that, you know, stuff has kind of been dictated for us. So how can we, as we're doing these really good things, continue to be good about telling our story and be at the table from the beginning, um, to really make sure that then policy and all of those other things moving forward falls right in line with what we're already doing as an industry and what makes sense for us to do as an industry moving forward.

Joanna Guza:
So we've touched on artificial intelligence. We've kind of heard you talk a little bit about farm data through the management practices. How do we protect that farm's data?

Austin Gellings:
I mean, from at the farm level, it's the simple things. It's the things you probably don't, don't think of, but you already do within your day-to-day life, um, you know, making sure you're, you change your passwords every now and then making sure that you're not, you know, sharing your information with folks who you don't trust and aren't trusted advisors or, you know, even trusted sites and stuff like that, um, is really just those small, you know, cybersecurity things to make sure that, that you're doing the right thing with that to keep, keep all of that safe. Taking that a level up. The industry is certainly doing a lot of things as well because we know that, um, you know, there have been examples already where the industry has been targeted, how can we build resiliency into agriculture? And us as equipment manufacturers kind of focusing on, you know, the work that AEM and our members are doing. We've worked very closely with the Department of Homeland Security and Cisa, um, to, you know, have some back and forth communication. What are the needs of the industry? What are, what are those departments seeing when it comes to cybersecurity and trying to build again, just build that resiliency, you know, from the top down into the equipment, into the, um, different data layers and and so on. But at the farm level, just do the things you would normally do in your, in, in your daily life and we should be good.

Joanna Guza:
Right. I'm glad you brought it back to the farm level and the basics. And I feel like now with all this technology though, we, we have these data centers and actually more data centers are being built. Do you guys have any work in that space that's making sure that that information's protected?

Austin Gellings:
The, the important thing is just the communication back and forth, and especially as now there are third parties coming along to help manage and, and evaluate data, how can we incorporate with them and make sure that their, their standards are the same as ours? So that, you know, we can hold each other to the same level of, we wanna make sure that farmers' data is safe at the end of the day, um, and we avoid some of the issues that maybe we've, we've seen in other areas. Um, and so we're gonna continue to, to have that dialogue with, you know, not just internally among, you know, amongst equipment manufacturers, even just us as agriculture. We wanna have conversations with those who've already gone through this and, and take lessons learned from them as well so that we can, you know, move forward together as an industry and keep data safe.

Joanna Guza:
Two more questions for you, Austin, as we wrap up this episode of Farm Food Facts. This is kind of going a little off topic and focusing more on the consumer and the public, but what can the average consumer or the public learn from agriculture when it comes to carbon neutrality?

Austin Gellings:
I think the first thing is just that the small things matter. Making sure that you're, you're doing what's right. And I think that sometimes, you know, even when we look at agriculture, sometimes it's hard when we look at how can we be sustainable. I know my farm is, is going through it even as well. Uh, you know, where do we start? And I think that's where agriculture can be a really good example of just, you know, starting with the small things, the easy things and really, um, you know, picking those up and, and knowing that you can, you can make a difference. And also acknowledging that it's never too late to start, you know, us as an industry, um, this has been a long journey for us and there are folks who are joining now, but, or who have been doing this for 20 years and, you know, we want all those folks to come along and we want all everybody to come along keep doing, to keep doing those same things. So I, I would say the, the two main things are, you know, it's never too late to start and if you don't know where to start, just some start with something simple because that's how you begin to make a difference. Just starting with the small things.

Joanna Guza:
Last question for you, Austin. What future trends are you keeping an eye on in the space of achieving net zero?

Austin Gellings:
You know, we touched on artificial intelligence already. I think that's gonna have a huge role to play and that ties right into the data side as well, which I think there's still so much more room to grow. You know, for years we've been collecting this data, but we've never really known what to do with it. Now we're starting to better understand the data and how it can be useful on the farm and help to, to make more decisions. You know, beyond those two things, when you look at automation and autonomy as well, there's really great room for potential there. Those to help, again, the small things right, and, and increasing the efficiency on, on our farms. But I think moving forward AI and data are, are gonna be huge because, you know, we've already done some of those easy. We've grabbed that low hanging fruit, done the easy things. Now it's, now it's time to get deep into things a little bit and, and start to, to identify where those smaller gaps may be. And I think that AI and data are gonna help us, help us do that. And then after that, um, we'll have some more actionable things that we can continue to do

Joanna Guza:
Well. We appreciate the expertise and insight from Austin Gellings, director of Agricultural Services with the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, we appreciate your time with us today. USFRA plays the critical important role of creating opportunities for collaboration, information sharing, and solution development for the full agricultural value chain. If you enjoyed listening to our podcast, please subscribe and rate us on your favorite podcast app. Tune in again. I'm Joanna Guza for Farm + Food + Facts.