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Ammonia (NH 3 ) emissions from agriculture to the atmosphere, along with emissions of other pollutants from a variety of sources, are of concern to agriculture worldwide. National emissions from agricultural sources in Canada are linked to domestic consumption and export demand for agricultural products. The onus to limit emissions is often directed to the producers, but the marketplace and consumer are also responsible for the environmental impact of their choices. This objective of this study was to quantitatively link agricultural NH 3 emissions to per person consumption of food and protein and to agricultural exports from Canada. There are substantial differences in the NH 3 emissions per unit consumed protein among the various food types. As a result, shifts in the Canadian diet have had a large impact on relative per person NH 3 emissions. From 1981 to 2006, the total per person protein intake in the Canadian diet increased about 5%, but NH 3 emission related to that diet decreased 20%. This is largely related to consumption of less beef, which has a high emission per unit of meat or protein, and more poultry and cereals which have much lower emissions. Although these changes in diet were not because of environmental concerns by the consumers, they had substantial effects on national-level emissions. These consumer driven effects may well exceed the possible effects of best management practices intended to address NH 3 emissions at the producer level. Note that the Canadian population has increased 50% from 1981 to 2006 and meat and egg exports increased 570%, so that total emissions from food production in Canada have increased. Our results imply there will be further effects on national NH 3 emissions because of dietary and export drivers that are generally outside the scope of agro-environmental policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study to evaluate the ammonia emissions which is associated with beef cattle production across Canada. It informs that data on farm practices that was obtained from a survey of 1380 beef farmers in 11 Ecoregions was used for the study. The study suggests that ammonia emissions per animal were relatively consistent across Ecoregions for confinement production and varies per animal as the proportion of animals on pasture varied with Ecoregion.

The article presents a study regarding the activity of dairy farmers in Canada in 2005 related to the use of nitrogn (N) and especially practices that led to loss of ammonia (NH3). The study examines the ecoregion and differences in terms of farm size in dairy feed and manure nitrogen management. It reveals the significance of ecoregion and farm size differences in representing the nation's dairy farm management.