In 2009, agri-food industry stakeholders in NI started work on a plan to raise awareness about actions that can be taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture. That led to an action plan for 2011 to 2015, which was published in December 2011.

Last week saw an updated plan released, which covers the years from 2016 to 2020. It highlights that there is still much work to do to spread the message to farmers about production efficiency. There are also plenty of knowledge gaps around how we measure the contribution of local agriculture to climate change.

For most industries, the primary greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide, whereas methane (released by animals and animal manures) and nitrous oxide (from fertiliser and soils) are the emissions most associated with agriculture. There is also ammonia released from agriculture, which is indirectly linked to nitrous oxide emissions.

However, against that, farming potentially has an important and positive role in locking away carbon from the atmosphere in soils, grassland and trees.

Target

Current best estimates suggest that local agriculture accounts for 28% of greenhouse gas emissions in NI (the largest of any sector), so it is not something farming can ignore. Set above that is a UK target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from all sectors by 80% by 2050 (using a baseline of 1990). The latest figures would suggest that total emissions from local agriculture are down 5% from the baseline of 1990.

However, while overall progress might seem slow, when the figures are expressed per unit of output, things can look substantially different. For example, initial findings suggest that the carbon intensity of milk production has reduced in the order of 25% since 1990, confirming that our dairy industry is one of the most sustainable and efficient suppliers of product.

There is also much that remains unknown. For example, soils and grassland represent a substantial carbon sink, with peatlands in NI estimated to hold up to 200m tonnes of carbon (about 50% of all carbon stored). In addition, plants, trees and hedges all take in and store (sequester) carbon from the atmosphere.

But, as highlighted in the report, there is considerable uncertainty around the full potential of soils and grassland to take in carbon. At present, carbon sequestered in hedgerows and grassland is not accounted for in figures used to measure carbon intensity of local agriculture. As a result, more research is required on this issue, with the aim to ensure that the overall role of agriculture in climate change is properly understood.

Unit of output

Despite that, the onus remains very much on farmers being as efficient as possible and lowering emissions per unit of output produced. Ultimately, it is about farming sustainably, although more efficient farming is also more profitable, so the messages to farmers are all about good practice.

Those messages include managing soil fertility, using soil analysis to match inputs to crop needs and managing livestock to minimise animal disease, optimise fertility and liveweight gain.

Legislation

In the background remains the threat of specific climate change legislation in NI, something advocated by the last Environment Minister, Mark H Durkan, but generally opposed by farmers.

It was an issue touched on by Ulster Farmers’ Union president Barclay Bell, when commenting on the update action plan last week.

“This joint plan proves that we can address climate issues by working together, offering education, advice and guidance rather than heavy-handed legislation and penalties,” he said.