ILLINOIS FARMERS CELEBRATE GREEN WEEK
February 9, 2012
It might be National Green Week, but Illinois farmers celebrate being green every single day of their lives. Consider these statistics:
- An acre of corn removes 8 tons of harmful greenhouse gas, more than that produced by your car annually.
- No-till acres have increased 35 percent to 55 million acres since biotech crops were introduced.
- No-till reduced soil erosion 1 billion tons per year.
- No-till saves $3.5 billion in water treatment and waterway maintenance.
- No-till conserves 309 million gallons of fuel per year.
- No-till improves wildlife habitat.
- Energy use has decreased 37 percent per bushel of corn since 1987.
- Between 1987 and 2007, corn farmers have reduced soil loss by 67 percent per bushel of corn.
In fact, changing best management practices (like no-till) and additional technologies (like GPS) have enable farmers to minimize trips over the field and to localize applications of crop protection and fertilization products.
One thing is for sure. Farmers ARE green and they wake up every day trying to be greener.
For more information on how Illinois farmers celebrate Green Week every day, check out these articles.