Climate Smart Ag Collaboration: Wednesday, March 8th, AGAD 128

Topic: Ag systems, Earth Systems and Public Health for Climate-Smart Ag

The goal of this in-person session is to highlight researchers working in ‘ag adjacent’ fields that can add value to larger ‘system of systems’ approaches expected in upcoming climate smart ag RFPs.  Speakers and topics include:

Chad Laux (Assoc. Professor, CIT-Polytechnic): Integration of Lean Green approaches to climate-smart ag

Description: The issue of climate change will impact all industry sectors and should be studied in a systematic manner.  Lean is the most adopted production system in the world with a focus on a reduction of waste to increase value to customers. There are recent efforts at adopting a Lean and Green approach to combine a focus on systematic reduction in waste combined with improved environmental impact. Integration of Lean Green in a climate change framework offers a fully integrated value stream for an organized approach to identify waste throughout the production life cycle.

Lisa Welp (Assoc. Professor, EAPS): Exploration of interrelations between ag activities and Earth’s climate system

Description: It is well known that the ag sector is a large source of greenhouse gases from nitrous oxide emissions, to energy-input related fossil emissions, to deforestation by ag expansion in the tropics. It has also been proposed that soils have the potential to store more carbon than they currently do. In this talk Dr. Welp will explore ways that ag activities participate in the Earth’s climate system.

Yumary Ruiz (Assoc. Professor, Public Health): Integrating ag workers into a climate smart approach

Description: Dr. Ruiz will discussion the importance of integrating awareness of the additional burdens faced by ag workers who are family caregivers into approaches that address the socio-economic, health, and educational dimensions of climate change and its impacts within ag systems.