Greenhouse gas analysis in Ireland leads to conundrum
He recently told members of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture: “On the one hand, we hear that agriculture in Ireland accounts for a large proportion, 32%, of national emissions while, on the other, we hear that agriculture has one of the lowest carbon footprints in the world. Both statements are true at the same time.
“A large proportion of emissions come from agriculture. The average in Europe is 10%, whereas it is 32% in Ireland. Part of that can be explained by the fact that we do not have a large heavy industrial sector, nor do we have a large population of cattle.
“This means in Europe, agriculture emissions are often masked by industrial and residential emissions, but this is not the case in Ireland. Second, we rely on ruminant farming in Ireland — cattle, dairy cows and sheep — which is largely a reflection of our soils and climate. It is simply what we are good at.”
He showed Oireachtas members data from the European Commission which compares the carbon footprint of a litre of milk for every member state. It shows that Ireland has the lowest carbon footprint for milk in the EU.
“When we look at beef, we are again in a relatively good starting position. We have the joint fifth lowest carbon footprint,” he said.
He said our main competitors have proactive sustainability programmes at national level and at processor level. “We have to find ways to continue to reduce our footprint to maintain our position.
Teagasc has published a vision for 2020 which considers options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Some of these measures relate to efficient farming, such as a higher economic breeding index, higher genetic merit for cows, extending the grazing season, and nitrogen efficiency. They are cost beneficial.
Some measures relate to land-use change, largely biofuel production and bioenergy. They are cost neutral, with no financial impediment or incentive for farmers to take them up. But under the current Kyoto accounting framework, any carbon credits associated with biofuels and bioenergy are not credited to the agriculture sector. Instead, they end up in the power generation or transport sectors.
Other measures relate to technological intervention, such as anaerobic digestion of pig slurry or slurry spreading equipment, which Teagasc has found to be expensive.
“The headline conclusion of our 2020 vision is that it is possible to achieve the food harvest strategy targets while, at the same time, keeping greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture constant.”
Dr Schulte said the most profitable dairy farms also have the lowest carbon footprint, and vice versa.
Teagasc’s carbon navigator will be provided in beef and dairy discussion groups this year. It is a decision-support tool that helps farmers identify what measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are most appropriate for them.
