The Clean Energy Leader Strategy: Farming a Sustainable Future
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The Clean Energy Leader Strategy: farming a sustainable future Since 2006, New Holland Agriculture’s Clean Leader Energy Strategy has been at the forefront of agricultural mechanization. Written By New Holland The keys to the future? Sustainability, efficiency and “doing more with less”. Since 1900, the world’s population has increased three times more than in the entire history of humanity, going from 1.5 bn to over 7.5 bn people today. The United Nations predicts reaching the benchmark of 9.7 bn by 2050. As the demand for food keeps rising, people are also becoming more and more aware of the great social, economic and environmental costs of an unbalanced growth: food insecurity, waste and environmental degradation are only a few examples. The question is not only how will we feed everyone, but how can we do so in a sustainable way? Governments have finally decided to take action and start building a sustainable economic model; the signing of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate was an important step in that direction. Now more than ever, all eyes are on the agro-farming business: it’s tasked with satisfying the food demands of a fast-growing global population, but also drastically cutting its environmental impact on water, soil and the atmosphere. New Holland Agriculture: innovation as tradition While the challenge seems daunting, agricultural mechanization nowadays benefits from technology that was unthinkable just a few years ago. For New Holland Agriculture, believing in it is the key to re-shaping tomorrow’s world — in line with a tradition that’s over a century- old. Technological innovation at the service of agriculture has been one of New Holland Agriculture’s driving principles for over 120 years. Or, more precisely, since 1895, when its founder Abe Zimmerman started building agricultural equipment in his shop in New Holland, Pennsylvania, USA. For the company, innovation has always required engaging the three main actors in the agro-farming world of today and, most importantly, of tomorrow: the farmer, farming equipment and farming practices. Over a decade ago, innovating also meant taking into account a new challenge for farmers: combining agricultural mechanization with sustainability. Farming equipment and practices had to ensure efficiency and productivity, while respecting the environment. To that end, in 2006 New Holland Agriculture launched its Clean Energy Leader Strategy. Clean Energy Leader Strategy: four pillars for the future New Holland’s Clean Energy Leader Strategy is constantly evolving, but it all goes back to four original pillars. First, it advocates for the use of alternative fuels generated from renewable resources: farmers grow and harvest biomass and biofuel crops, and use agricultural waste, with which they produce energy and provide for their own needs, potentially selling the surplus to the national grid. Alternative fuels generated on the farm can power agricultural machinery such as the T6 Methane Power Tractor, a prototype (running solely on alternative fuels) that New Holland Agriculture presented at the SIMA roundtable, organized in partnership with The Economist in Paris last February. The environmental advantages are many: for example, emissions are 80% lower than a standard diesel engine. When using bio-methane, its carbon impact is virtually zero, and running cost savings are between 10%-30% in comparison to traditional fuels. Further down the road, the ultimate goal is to achieve an Energy Independent FarmTM. A farm running solely on renewable energies — from solar, wind and biomass sources. Farmers can recycle and transform what today is considered agricultural waste, into tomorrow’s energy: machinery is powered with alternative fuel they produced thanks to biogas plants on the ground. It’s a virtually carbon-neutral virtuous circle, ensuring energy independence with reduced emissions and waste. Efficient Productivity The second pillar of the Clean Energy Leader Strategy entails increasing farms’ efficiency and productivity, while respecting the environment. The aim is to produce food for everyone by unlocking the agricultural machinery’s full potential and using less resources. In this respect, New Holland Agriculture has already obtained outstanding results in reducing emissions over the last decade, thanks to its Tier 4 engine technology: today you can use a New Holland tractor for over 180 days and produce the same quantity of emissions that 1 machine would have produced in just a day ten years ago. Another solution developed to help farmers produce more with less is PLM, a precision land management technology that improves the accuracy and cost-effectiveness of day-to-day work. PLM technologies know how to make the best use of seeds and chemical inputs within each field, so that each plant gets exactly what it needs to grow optimally. Less waste, maximal result. At the same time, a smart data collection helps farmers create a database of field activities, season by season. They can better plan the use of their machinery, saving time and money by reducing fuel consumption, while also reducing emissions. In short? More productive farms and better quality food for everyone. Sustainable farming and all-round commitment Reducing the impact of farming on the agricultural environment ensures that it stays healthier for longer, and that farmers will be able to farm the same land just as efficiently. That goes well beyond just reducing emissions: it’s about working with nature. Farming sustainably means the soil structure is preserved, and with it the fruits of tomorrow it bears. At New Holland Agriculture, sustainability isn't just a value to preach others, but a core principle to live by, in the effort to continue leading the way in agricultural mechanization. The last pillar of the Clean Energy Leader Strategy is being a committed company: New Holland Agriculture operates locally, believes in recycling as a core value, and invests in solutions that reduce the environmental impact of its own production. When asked about the future of agriculture at the SIMA roundtable in Paris, Brand President Carlo Lambro summed it up quite effectively: “It’s about doing more with less. That way we obtain more food, more nutrition and more sustainability with less effort, fewer emissions and less waste of resources.” .