The agriculture sector could become part of the climate change solution.   OTTAWA—Frustration with the federal government's failure to deal with the agrifood sector's complaints about the impact of the carbon tax on their operations flared up among delegates to the Canadian Federation of Agriculture annual general meeting. A long winded presentation by Environment Canada officials on the carbon tax, which made no reference to complaints by CFA and many other agrifood groups about some of its provisions, triggered angry criticisms from delegates. “The impact of the carbon tax on producers is far greater than the federal government realizes,” one delegate said. Others pointed out that while some farm machinery will be exempt from the tax, fuel for grain dryers isn't. “We're getting hit from both sides.” Nothing in the Environment Department presentation acknowledged the complaints farm groups have registered with the government about the details of the carbon tax or the many steps taken by farmers to reduce their carbon footprint. The delegates drew support during the same panel session from Candace Vinke, Sustainable Development Director of Viresco Solutions, an environmental consulting firm. She said that “the impact of carbon tax on producers is greater than federal officials realize.” It's a complex task for individual farms to reduce their carbon footprint because it at best generates a small revenue stream and can change due to a variety of factors. She said that globally the agrifood sector is responsible for 25 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, more than double the Canadian number. But the right policies and practices could turn the sector from a problem to 30 per cent of the solution to reducing GHG emissions during the next 10 to 15 years. Among the steps she recommended were to stop converting forests, grassland and wetlands into farmland and adopting programs like the 4R nutrient program and promoting better livestock feed efficiency and manure management and more no-till and cover crops to protect the soil. “We have the opportunity to make agriculture a contributor to GGH reduction,” she said. Alberta is leading the way among Canadian jurisdictions with its carbon pricing program to get large emitters to reduce their emissions or purchase carbon credits. The provincial government has invested about $500 million in new technologies to reduce GHGs. “It will be the proving ground for emission reduction programs.” The province is also running a beef carbon reduction program that through better feed efficiency will reduce methane emissions by at least 30 per cent, she said. The 4-R program developed in Canada has been recognized by the UN and has gained attention around the world. The food supply chains are also developing science based targets for foods produced with lower emissions and they will become increasingly important in the future, she said. One of them is called the Cool Farm Tool and it is being adapted in Canada starting with beef nutrition and manure management. Another program under development is the Carbon Accounting and Insetting Project to take advantage of precision agriculture practices and satellite imagery to track farm practices that lower emissions. However there is no national approach to reducing agriculture's contribution to emissions and Ontario's decision to drop cap and trade only compounded the confusion across the country. Alex Binkley is a freelance journalist and writes for domestic and international publications about agriculture, food and transportation issues. He's also the author of two science fiction novels with more in the works.