“We’re now expanding that capability to all the public soybean breeding programs in the region,” said Rainey, professor of agronomy, who also directs the Purdue Soybean Center. Soon, she and Cherkauer will begin receiving drone imagery collected on a panel of 1,200 soybean varieties that breeders have planted in 11 states across the U.S. north-central region.

“Here at Purdue, we’ll do all the processing and modification of the images to predict biomass,” she said.

The effort is part of the SOYGEN3 (Science Optimized Yield Gains across ENvironments) project. Consisting of eight universities, including Purdue, SOYGEN3 has more than $900,000 in funding from the North Central Soybean Research Program.

“The overarching goal in this experiment is to develop methods and models for selecting soybeans that will be high yielding in future extreme environments under climate-change scenarios,” Rainey said. “We know that the future environments we’re going to grow soybean in are different from the ones we have now because climate is changing.

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“The Trudeau government has apparently moved on from their attack on the oil and gas industry and set their sights on Saskatchewan farmers.”

A plan by Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada to combat climate change by reducing the use of fertilizer is under fire from provincial leaders and farmers who say it will reduce output, cut into farming income and increase food prices at grocery stores at a time when the nation can ill afford it.
Similar proposals in Europe have led to furious protests in the Netherlands and elsewhere. Canadians acting in solidarity with those protests took to the streets of Ottawa and other Canadian cities over the weekend to vent their frustrations.

In the name of combating climate change, Mr. Trudeau’s plan is to reduce farmers’ emissions of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas, by 30 percent by 2030. The plan is similar to the measures taken by the Dutch government. Dutch farmers have been told they must reduce their use of fertilizers by 50 percent during the same time period for many of the same reasons.

The Canadian federal government’s goals came up during a meeting Friday in Saskatoon of the federal minister of agriculture and agri-food, Marie Claude Bibeau, and her provincial counterparts from Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan. After the meeting, the provincial agriculture ministers called Mr. Trudeau’s fertilizer plan worryingly arbitrary. 

Saskatchewan’s agriculture minister, David Marit, was blunt in a press release sent to local news outlets following the meeting.
“We’re really concerned with this arbitrary goal,” Mr. Marit said in the release. “The Trudeau government has apparently moved on from their attack on the oil and gas industry and set their sights on Saskatchewan farmers.”

The coalition will share with elected officials, media and the public U.S. agriculture’s commitment to sustainability and the incredible strides already made to reduce agriculture’s environmental footprint. As policy proposals are developed and considered, the goal is for the coalition and its guiding principles to serve as a foundation to ensure the adoption of meaningful and constructive policies and programs affecting agriculture.

Farmers and ranchers are committed stewards of the land, leading the way to climate-smart farming by promoting soil health, conserving water, enhancing wildlife, using nutrients efficiently, and caring for their animals. For decades, they have pushed past the boundaries of innovation thanks to investments in agricultural research and the adoption of practices that improve productivity, provide clean and renewable energy, enhance sustainability, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and sequester carbon.

FSF’s guiding principles call for policies that support science-based research, voluntary incentive-based conservation programs, investment in infrastructure, and solutions that ensure vibrant rural communities and a healthy planet.

FSF members include American Farm Bureau Federation, American Pulse Association, American Sugar Alliance, American Soybean Association, National Association of Wheat Growers, National Barley Growers Association, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Corn Growers Association, National Cotton Council of America, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, National Farmers Union, National Sorghum Producers, National Milk Producers Federation, National Pork Producers Council, National Sunflower Association, Southern Peanut Farmers Association, United Egg Producers, U.S. Canola Association, U.S. Dry Bean Council, USA Dry Pea & Lentil Council, USA Rice.

More about the coalition members, guiding principles and sustainability achievements can be found at .

Producers increasingly appear interested in being part of the climate change discussion and helping to shape policy on the issue.

This year, farmers were unable to plant a record 20 million acres—more than twice the previous high watermark—as a result of heavy rain and flooding that caused historic planting delays.

In June, industry and government leaders came together for a secretive two-day meeting in Maryland to discuss how to pivot U.S. agriculture to help combat climate change.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue attended, along with two former secretaries, lawmakers, the CEOs of major food companies, and influential farm, environmental and anti-hunger groups. The meeting was hosted by U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance, a group made up of the heavyweights of American ag, and the Aspen Institute.

“I think the movement is growing,” said Iowa farmer Ray Gaesser, who served on President Donald Trump’s agricultural advisory committee ahead of the 2016 election. “Everybody I talk to, including farmers, they say ‘Yeah, we need to talk about this. … We’re seeing things we’re not used to seeing.”

Source: Politico