Editing Cereal (section)

=== Mitigations ===

{{further|Sustainable agriculture}}

[[File:Great Soil Structure in Stehly Crop Field in Eastern, SD (21480483232).jpg|thumb|Excellent soil structure in land in [[South Dakota]] with [[no-till farming]] using a [[crop rotation]] of maize, soybeans, and wheat accompanied by [[cover crop]]s. The main crop has been harvested but the roots of the cover crop are still visible in autumn.]]

Some of the impacts of growing cereals can be mitigated by changing production practices. Tillage can be reduced by [[no-till farming]], such as by direct drilling of cereal seeds, or by developing and planting [[perennial crop]] varieties so that annual tilling is not required. Rice can be grown as a [[Ratooning|ratoon]] crop;<ref name="IRRI rice plant"/> and other researchers are exploring perennial cool-season cereals, such as [[kernza]], being developed in the US.<ref name="Kaplan 2021">{{cite news |last=Kaplan |first=Sarah |title=A recipe for fighting climate change and feeding the world |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/interactive/2021/bread-baking-sustainable-grain-kernza/ |access-date=19 November 2021 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>

Fertilizer and pesticide usage may be reduced in some [[polyculture]]s, growing several crops in a single field at the same time.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Glover |first1=Jerry D. |last2=Cox |first2=Cindy M. |last3=Reganold |first3=John P. |year=2007 |title=Future Farming: A Return to Roots? |url=http://www.landinstitute.org/pages/Glover-et-al-2007-Sci-Am.pdf |journal=[[Scientific American]] |volume=297 |issue=2 |pages=82–89 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0807-82 |pmid=17894176 |bibcode=2007SciAm.297b..82G }}</ref> Fossil fuel-based [[nitrogen fertilizer]] usage can be reduced by [[intercropping]] cereals with [[legume]]s which [[nitrogen fixation|fix nitrogen]].<ref name="Jensen Carlsson Hauggaard-Nielsen 2020">{{cite journal |last1=Jensen |first1=Erik Steen |last2=Carlsson |first2=Georg |last3=Hauggaard-Nielsen |first3=Henrik |title=Intercropping of grain legumes and cereals improves the use of soil N resources and reduces the requirement for synthetic fertilizer N: A global-scale analysis |journal=Agronomy for Sustainable Development |publisher=Springer Science and Business Media |volume=40 |issue=1 |year=2020 |page=5 |issn=1774-0746 |doi=10.1007/s13593-020-0607-x|doi-access=free |bibcode=2020AgSD...40....5J }}</ref> Greenhouse gas emissions may be cut further by more efficient irrigation or by water harvesting methods like [[contour trenching]] that reduce the need for irrigation, and by breeding new crop varieties.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Vermeulen |first1=S.J. |last2=Dinesh |first2=D. |year=2016 |url=https://cgspace.cgiar.org/handle/10568/71052 |title=Measures for climate change adaptation in agriculture. Opportunities for climate action in agricultural systems. CCAFS Info Note |location=Copenhagen, Denmark |publisher=CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security}}</ref>