Tag: agriculture

Climate Solutions on the Farm: How eAgronom’s platform is revolutionising sustainable agriculture

Agriculture is one of the most critical industries when it comes to climate change. Not only does it play a major role in producing the food we rely on, but it also impacts our environment and natural resources in countless ways. This is why it’s so important to have a conversation about sustainable and responsible agricultural practices, and that’s exactly what the latest episode of my Climate Confident podcast aims to do.

In this latest episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with Robin Saluoks, CEO of eAgronom. In this episode, we delve into the world of sustainable farming and how technology can play a vital role in reducing emissions in the agricultural industry.

Robin shared with us how his family’s organic grain farm in Estonia prompted him to develop eAgronom, a tool for farmers to manage their operations, including financial reporting and people management. But as time passed, the tool evolved to include carbon and greenhouse gas tracking, as it’s crucial for farmers to consider the environmental impact of their decisions.

One of the key takeaways from the episode is the importance of precision in farming. Robin explains how precision fertilization and precision farming can lead to more efficient use of resources, and ultimately lower emissions. He also touched on the benefits farmers can receive by implementing sustainable practices, such as carbon credit income and sustainable loans with lower interest rates.

Another interesting topic we discussed is the role of food companies and land owners in promoting sustainable farming. Robin mentioned how some food companies are starting to offer a premium for food grown with lower emissions, and how some land owners are offering reduced rental rates to farmers who adopt sustainable practices.

Overall, this episode provides valuable insights into how technology and sustainable practices can benefit both farmers and the environment. If you’re interested in learning more about sustainable farming and the role of technology in reducing emissions, be sure to listen to this episode and follow the Climate Confident podcast for more updates and discussions on this and all Climate topics.

As a reminder, I release a new episode every Wednesday, and you can find it on the Climate Confident website, and in all podcast apps.

Photo credit Beyond Coal & Gas Image Library

Nice Dutch project using ‘waste’ heat and CO2 to increase greenhouse yields!

Greenhouse
Photo credit przemion 

Came across a great story on pressreleasefinder today via Twitter about a project in the Netherlands called WarmCO2.

What is WarmCO2?

It is a project which takes residual heat and CO2 from Dutch fertiliser manufacturer Yara and using infrastructure supplied by partner company Visser & Smit Hanab, pipes them to vegetable growers in the nearby Terneuzen commercial greenhouse project.

From the release:

WarmCO2 will be redistributing up to 84MW of residual heat and 70,000 tons of purified CO2 per year. The CO2 is used by growers to enrich the greenhouse atmosphere and encourage crop growth. Normally they would use a natural gas fired boiler to produce both CO2 and heat throughout the growing season, or a combined heat and power installation that supplies heat, CO2 and electricity, which is then fed back to the national grid.

As a result of the Terneuzen greenhouse project the redistribution of heat and CO2 from Yara via WarmCO2 will save some 52 million m3 of natural gas, which translates into a 90% reduction in fossil fuel consumption. This makes Terneuzen one of the most sustainable commercial greenhouse developments in the Netherlands.

This is being made possible by the “Green Projects” initiative of the Dutch ministries of Health & Environment, Agriculture and Treasury. This initiative offers fiscal benefits to ‘green’ investors and savers, which in turn allows banks to offer financial loans at lower interest rates. Under the Green Projects initiative a maximum of € 25 million can be made available per project.

ABN AMRO are the banking partner in this project and they stumped up the maximum €25 million (out of a total investment of €80 million in the project).

by-nc-sa

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