The meeting was attended by 19 people and involved parts were satisfied and interested with the outcome of this meeting as many of the discussed topics form a frame under which most of the project’s outcomes could be potentially applied in a wider range of livestock buildings.

The impact of the discussion was both in the direction of how to include these practices to legislation and how to train farmers on those practices as far as it concerns the involved parts of public authorities. Also, farmers and private sector entities were motivated on including these practices to their activities.

The post Stakeholders and public authorities meeting held by AUTH appeared first on Stargate.

STARGATE has created a survey to understand the drivers and barriers associated with the adoption and use of Climate-Smart Agriculture Tools. By analyzing the survey results, STARGATE can contribute to the existing knowledge on these technologies and ensure that farmers’ feedback is integrated into the development of new agricultural solutions.

The survey is available in several languages:  English | Spanish |  Greek |  Portuguese | German | Italian

All responses are anonymous with no identifying information about respondents captured.

The post Stargate Survey for Farmers on Climate-Smart Agriculture Tools appeared first on Stargate.

The main objective of the STARGATE workshop was to identify, in cooperation with stakeholders: (1) the main elements of the future vision and discuss how to get there (roadmap), and (2) the role of different elements in CSA (technology, improved crop and livestock management practices, farming systems) in this transition.

At the beginning of the workshop, a presentation entitled “Present and Future of Irrigation Management” was presented by VUMOP, which triggered a discussion to clearly identify the structure of the vision for irrigation in the Jizera River Pilot and in the Czech Republic as a whole. The vision for ten years was based on the definition and addressing of the challenges that currently exist within the operation of irrigation systems such as: (1) poor technical conditions of some irrigation systems, (2) water losses in pipes, (3) lack of national subsidies (currently stopped), (40 electricity prices (lower at night, but at this time crops cannot be irrigated), (5) lack of water for irrigation in summer and, and (6) the need of a real-time irrigation scheduling, prioritization of field blocks/crops.

During the discussion, participants agreed that a meaningful vision for irrigation in the country should include: (i) stabilization of irrigated areas to supply the market, (ii) reconstruction of irrigation systems with the support of national subsidies, (iii) irrigation management according to local crop water requirements (using soil moisture sensors and remote sensing tools), (iv) use of daytime periods with low electricity prices, and (v) construction of irrigation water tanks or larger ponds to collect water when irrigation is not needed (winter, spring, periods of high rainfall), prevent high loses from free water by evaporation.

The goal is to make efficient use of existing irrigation water sources (i.e. mainly surface water), which involves: (i) minimising water losses (leakages from pipes), (ii) storing water when irrigation is not actual (accumulation water tanks, pools), (iii) the possibility of irrigation according to crop water requirements and the onset / forecasting of crop water stress, (iv) taking the advantage of periods of low electricity prices. 

STARGATE tools fully fulfil and support the management vision in 10 years for the Jizera River pilot.  

Field experiments within the Jizera River pilot have contributed significantly to the development of controlled irrigation methodologies. Irrigation management using soil moisture sensors and derivation of irrigation rates using soil hydrolimits were successfully tested at field scale. It has showed the approach how the irrigation doses could be applied more precisely, optimising the water timing and irrigation doses to different crops. Further, it has opened and suggested a way for a broader application of these methods at larger scale. A GIS tool based on real-time data (ground and remote sensing – Landsat and Sentinel2 satellite imagery) was proposed that could determine crop water requirements and, in combination with weather forecasts, the real-time applicable irrigation rates.

The post Visioning workshop, organised by STARGATE Jizera River pilot appeared first on Stargate.

• What type/model of agriculture/animal production will we have in the future?
• What sources of energy will we use? How will we achieve climate neutrality?
• How do we secure climate adaptation and resilience?
• What is the role of technology in that vision?

The post STARGATE visioning workshop at the Rostěnice pilot appeared first on Stargate.

The purpose of this special issue is to pull together the current state of art of the knowledge and gaps, and to gather opinions from the EJP SOIL participants.

Impact areas:

• Fostering understanding of soil management and its influence on climate mitigation and adaptation, sustainable agricultural production and environment
• Understanding how soil carbon sequestration can contribute to climate change mitigation
• Strengthening scientific capacities and cooperation
• Supporting harmonized European soil information including for international reporting
• Fostering the uptake of climate-smart sustainable soil management
• Develop region and context specific fertilization practices

Submission open date: November 21, 2022
Submission deadline: October 31, 2023
For more info click here.

The post Call for papers – EJP SOIL Special Issue appeared first on Stargate.

This spring, the government began allocating $3.1 billion to hundreds of agriculture organizations, corporations, universities, and nonprofits for climate-smart projects. These entities will pass most of the money on to tens of thousands of farmers, ranchers, and forest owners, including growers who manage thousands of acres and underserved and disadvantaged farmers who often have much smaller operations. The first agreements have now been signed; the money is starting to flow.

The USDA estimates that the 141 funded projects will, collectively over the project’s five-year lifetime, eliminate or sequester the equivalent of 60 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions, on par with removing more than 2.4 million gas-powered cars from the road over the same period. They will achieve this by paying growers to adopt practices thought to either reduce greenhouse gas emissions or capture carbon dioxide from the air. These practices include reducing or eliminating tilling of soil, planting “cover crops” that grow during the off-season and are not harvested, improving how farmers use fertilizer and manure, and planting trees.

Read the full article in YALE Environment 360.

The post Climate-smart agriculture beyond the Atlantic appeared first on Stargate.

The post Severe drought in the western Mediterranean appeared first on Stargate.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

• Most of southern and western Europe is affected by substantial anomalies of soil moisture and river flow due to an exceptionally dry and warm winter.
• The snow water equivalent in the Alps is far below the historical average, and is even lower than that for the 2021-2022 winter. This will lead to severe reduction of snowmelt contribution to river flows in the perialpine region during spring and the early summer 2023.
• Impacts of the emerging drought are already visible in France, Spain, and northern Italy and raise concerns on water supply, agriculture and energy production.
• Seasonal forecasts show a warmer than average spring over Europe, while precipitation forecasts are characterized by higher spatial variability and uncertainty. Close monitoring and proper water use plans are required to deal with a season that currently has a high risk of being critical for water resources.

Click here to download the report.

The post Drought in Europe appeared first on Stargate.

By Heather Tunstall, Corporate Content Director, Brand Media & Engagement, Meister Media Worldwide

Climate and agriculture go hand-in-hand, and when there’s volatility, the ag industry feels it. As the climate shifts and begins doling out extreme weather on a more regular basis, it’s imperative that growers mitigate their innate vulnerability as much as possible by incorporating smart practices.

The ripple effects of climate change are varied and significant: increases in invasive pests, long-lasting droughts, intense weather events, and ultimately, reduced crop yields, to name just a few. Compounding that, regulatory efforts are hampering once-relied-upon solutions, leading growers to seek alternate means of protecting crops and increasing output while keeping the bottom line healthy.

The aim of Climate Smart Farming is to help growers adapt to and manage the risks associated with the changing climate, while creating more resilient, healthier, productive acreage to help sustainably feed a growing world population. In this report, we’ll take a look at the ways in which the agriculture industry is currently being impacted as well as how to incorporate climate smart practices.

Read more…

The post Global Insight Series 2023 appeared first on Stargate.

The agriculture industry is under pressure. Dramatic cost increases for inputs and labor are putting farmers’ profitability at risk. Globally, farmers report that prices for inputs such as fertilizer and crop protection chemicals have risen by 80 to 250 percent over the past few years. Climate change is also squeezing profits.

A warmer climate is resulting in increased weather variability, more frequent acute weather events, longer droughts, and new invasive crops and pests, all of which reduce yields. In the American Southwest, for example, an ongoing megadrought is so severe that the past two decades have been the region’s driest in at least 1,200 years.

To navigate these challenges and remain economically viable, farmers must find innovative solutions. Automation shows considerable promise for reducing the impact of farming on climate change and helping growers adapt to its financial impact. Autonomous farming solutions exist on a spectrum, requiring varied levels of operator support. This ranges from semi-automated technology widely adopted today (e.g., assisted steering) to fully automated systems (e.g., weeding robots). Next-generation technologies use a combination of sensors, analytics, robotics, and equipment to help farmers make smarter decisions on the field and do more with less. In addition, recent developments in generative AI present future opportunities to automate decision making using vast data sets that already exist. Potential examples include helping farmers develop strategic plans about what inputs (fertilizer, crop protection, and seeds) to apply, at what times and what rates, to best support a farm’s profitability and sustainable practices. Automated technology can deliver significant value to both row- and specialty-crop growers. For instance, fully autonomous use cases across orchards and vineyards can deliver more than $400 per acre per year in value, doubling to quadrupling returns on farmers’ investment in automation.

read more… 

The post Trends driving automation on the farm appeared first on Stargate.