How Illinois farmers are fighting climate change
Farmers in Illinois are adopting strategies like no-till, crop cover, and installing constructed wetlands to reduce carbon emissions and water pollution.
The U.S. industrial farming system is just not working. It contributes to about 11 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. It can also contribute to polluting rivers and lakes, dead zones, and decreasing biodiversity.
But adopting more sustainable farming practices can make a big difference. These practices can also help soil capture carbon, instead of it being released into the atmosphere as CO2 where it contributes to warming the planet.
Reset learns more about healthy soil strategies and how advocates are encouraging farmers to construct wetlands on their farms to absorb the nitrogen from fertilizer runoff that pollutes waterways.
GUESTS: Jean Brokish, Midwest Deputy Director, American Farmland Trust
Dr. Jill Kostel, Senior Environmental Engineer The Wetlands Initiative
Karen Weigert, director of Loyola University Chicago’s Baumhart Center for Social Enterprise and Responsibility
Paul Botts, executive director The Wetlands Initiative
Jim Martin, fifth generation corn and soybean farmer, LaSalle County, IL
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How Illinois farmers are fighting climate change
Farmers in Illinois are adopting strategies like no-till, crop cover, and installing constructed wetlands to reduce carbon emissions and water pollution.
The U.S. industrial farming system is just not working. It contributes to about 11 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. It can also contribute to polluting rivers and lakes, dead zones, and decreasing biodiversity.
But adopting more sustainable farming practices can make a big difference. These practices can also help soil capture carbon, instead of it being released into the atmosphere as CO2 where it contributes to warming the planet.
Reset learns more about healthy soil strategies and how advocates are encouraging farmers to construct wetlands on their farms to absorb the nitrogen from fertilizer runoff that pollutes waterways.
GUESTS: Jean Brokish, Midwest Deputy Director, American Farmland Trust
Dr. Jill Kostel, Senior Environmental Engineer The Wetlands Initiative
Karen Weigert, director of Loyola University Chicago’s Baumhart Center for Social Enterprise and Responsibility
Paul Botts, executive director The Wetlands Initiative
Jim Martin, fifth generation corn and soybean farmer, LaSalle County, IL