In search of Net Positive Carbon Grain Farming in the Northern Great Plains: innovation in policy and practice
| dc.contributor.author | Rourke, David | |
| dc.contributor.examiningcommittee | Entz, Martin (Plant Science) | |
| dc.contributor.examiningcommittee | Haque, Emdad (Natural Resources Management) | |
| dc.contributor.examiningcommittee | Orr, Mary-Jane (Natural Resources Management) | |
| dc.contributor.examiningcommittee | Glenn, Aaron (Natural Resources Management) | |
| dc.contributor.examiningcommittee | Chowdhury, Atahural (University of Guelph) | |
| dc.contributor.supervisor | Davidson-Hunt, Iain | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-05-20T16:18:18Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-05-20T16:18:18Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 0025-05-20 | |
| dc.date.submitted | 2025-05-20T14:49:46Z | en_US |
| dc.degree.discipline | Natural Resources Institute | |
| dc.degree.level | Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) | |
| dc.description.abstract | This thesis addresses the opportunities that exist for grain farms to help mitigate anthropogenic global warming. The thesis developed Rourke’s General Farm Practice Change Theory, then uses that theory to develop a Net Positive Carbon Grain Farming Framework along with a Global Warming Mitigation Credit Framework. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted for sixteen cases involving participants from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The research is a qualitative exploratory participatory narrative case study. The data was transcribed via UM Zoom and uploaded to NVivo where it was coded and queried for emerging themes. Data was also collected to calculate estimates of emissions, CO2 sequestration, contribution margins, and production output. From this data I was able to determine a Net Positive carbon grain farming score as well as a Sustainable Farm Index rating. During the interview, each participant was asked 10 questions on each of 12 Beneficial Management Practices, BMPs. A 1 to 5 scale was used to record their response and then fed into a tool developed for the study labelled as BERT /E. The BERT/E tool considers the following variables: beliefs (B), economics (E), regulatory (R), technology (T), and the farmer’s physical and mental energy (E) to make a change. BERT/E scores are an indicator of the farmers BMP adoption score. This study yielded both theoretical advancement as well as practical outcomes. The practical outcomes included identifying two participants whose farms are currently Net Positive. This included identifying the BMPs they used to become Net Positive and how their approach differed from the overall group. I was also able to assemble 50 recommendations that would improve the ability of the twelve BMPs to assist farmers in becoming Net Positive. Ultimately, the findings of this work demonstrate that grain farms can be instrumental in tackling anthropogenic global warming. | |
| dc.description.note | October 2025 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1993/39083 | |
| dc.language.iso | eng | |
| dc.subject | climate change | |
| dc.subject | global warming mitigation | |
| dc.subject | Rourke's General Farm Practice Change Theory | |
| dc.subject | Net Positive Farm Network | |
| dc.subject | Net Positive Community of Practice | |
| dc.subject | Zero Till, No Till | |
| dc.subject | BERT/E | |
| dc.subject | Sustainable Farm Index, SFI | |
| dc.subject | No Regret BMP | |
| dc.subject | Neutral BMP | |
| dc.subject | Sacrifice BMP | |
| dc.title | In search of Net Positive Carbon Grain Farming in the Northern Great Plains: innovation in policy and practice | |
| local.subject.manitoba | yes | |
| project.funder.name | Self Funded with senior waiver of tuition fees from UM |