We don’t need 50% cut in suckler herd

Professor Frank O’Mara, Director of Research, Teagasc The debate on how agriculture deals with greenhouse gas emissions has intensified in recent months, with the publication of the report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Climate Change; the government’s new Climate Action Plan; and the Climate Change Advisory Council Annual Review, which had a special focus on agriculture, and analysed the impact of reducing the suckler (beef) cow herd by up to 50%.

The debate on how agriculture deals with greenhouse gas emissions has intensified in recent months, with the publication of the report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Climate Change; the government’s new Climate Action Plan; and the Climate Change Advisory Council Annual Review, which had a special focus on agriculture, and analysed the impact of reducing the suckler (beef) cow herd by up to 50%.

As agricultural emissions are closely tied to livestock numbers, this would certainly reduce emissions, but can we reach our emissions targets without the need for such a large reduction in suckler cows?