UK dairy farmers could prove major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions – but there’s more to do
UK dairy farmers look set to have achieved major reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases over the past 15 years. Provisional figures, which already exceed Kyoto targets of a 12.5% reduction on 1990 levels by 2012, were discussed by leading industry figures at a recent symposium on carbon footprinting organised by DairyCo and held at the Coventry Business Village.
But while the news was welcomed, speakers made it clear that national data on greenhouse gas emissions needed closer analysis to get a more accurate estimate of the industry’s achievements. Further progress was also needed to develop and test mitigation methods to ensure they were appropriate and practical for use on farm. Delegates were also reminded that agriculture remained the biggest single contributor of two of the most warming greenhouse gases: methane and nitrous oxide.
David Chadwick of North Wyke Research said that recent studies indicate that agricultural emissions of nitrous oxide, which is almost 300 times more ’warming’ than carbon dioxide, had fallen by 21% since 1990, mainly because of reduced fertiliser use. "Measures put in place for NVZs will help reduce emissions and potentially save money.
"Agricultural emissions of methane, which is 25 times more warming than carbon dioxide, have also fallen by 15%. Efficiency is again the driver here – fewer, higher-yielding cows and better manure management."
Robin Dickinson from The Carbon Trust said that while there were indications the industry had already done a good deal to reduce the levels of emissions per litre of milk, validation was essential.
"Dairy could be a good news secret," he said. "We are working in a complex environment but the industry understands the problem. Progress has been made on reducing carbon emissions per litre of milk, and the industry is looking forward for the next steps. However, there is still a lot of misunderstanding inside and outside the industry, and we need to see verification of emissions reductions to better communicate the achievements already made."
DairyCo marketing manager Amanda Ball was able to demonstrate the need for better communication by presenting recent research from The Dairy Council. It showed that while two out of every five consumers agreed the impact their food had on the environment was very important to them, almost half were not clear about whether dairy farmers could be doing more to reduce their environmental impact.
"This shows a real need for facts and figures," she said. "The industry has an opportunity to fill this vacuum with accurate and constructive information for consumers. As we undertake new activities to further reduce our impact, when the time is right and we have sound data we should promote that progress."
Brian Lindsay, head of research and development at DairyCo, said that the organisation would be looking seriously at validation of available data. But he also urged farmers to try some of the tools available to help plan mitigation strategies on farm such as MANNER-NPK.
"While the industry has set itself a goal of aligning these to provide more consistent results and verifying its data, there is a real benefit in going through the process of measuring in the first place. Once you’ve captured the information, it will show how different strategies can help reduce emissions and save costs," he said.
"In the meantime, the industry representatives here today have made it clear the dairy sector is not going to rest on this issue so DairyCo is going to continue supporting this collaborative effort with the aim of further improving our environmental story."
