A new report entitled Crops 2030 – A strategic plan to deliver environmental and economic sustainability for the Irish Crops Sector was launched last week. The report, produced by the Teagasc tillage stakeholder consultative group, provides a review of the state of the industry, along with a set of suggested actions.
This report is an update of the Tillage Sector Development Plan 2012 and it is produced by a similar grouping of representatives from within the industry.
Background
The report gives a graphical representation of background facts such as average importation between 2014 and 2018 of:
3.4mt of feed ingredients.80,000t of potatoes.9.7m litres of food grade oil.210,000t of flour.The same period sees self-sufficiency in feed grains decrease from 41% in 2014 to 21% in 2018 with an average of 36% over the period. Self sufficiency is decreasing because feed demand is increasing and the area in tillage and cereal production has been decreasing.
The report identifies that the value of exports from the drinks industry is put at €1.4bn, which compares with €3.5bn for all meat exports and €4.4bn from dairy. The sector supplies grains for food, feed and drink manufacture.
Sustainability
Tillage land generally has a good emissions and sustainability profile. The report identifies that specialist Irish tillage farms emit an estimated 1.18t/ha of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e) greenhouse gases (GHG), which is much lower than the output from livestock, so the more land that is lost from crop production, the greater the obligation on the livestock sector to do more.
As markets demand increased sustainability, all agricultural producers are being asked to show improvement in this regard. As a result, it is now common for livestock producers to ask about the sustainability and emissions profile of feed ingredients, as this will become increasingly relevant for assurance schemes.
The report states that the CO2-e emissions figure for South American maize is 27t/ha (vs 1.18t for Irish grains). While this is likely to be among the worst ratings for GHG emissions (probably related to rainforest destruction), the equivalent figure for US maize is at 4.0t/ha CO2-e.
So, as livestock producers improve the carbon footprint of their businesses, the provenance of their feeds is likely to become increasingly important.
The report suggests that the relevant parties and Bord Bia come together to help find ways to promote the benefits of Irish grains and crops to help improve the sustainability of agriculture.
A carbon sink
While all agricultural soils are regarded as being stores for carbon, worn tillage soils have lower organic matter levels than grassland. This has two major consequences:
It is reducing the output potential of this land on an annual basis.It has greater potential to build organic matter and to store carbon.This situation provides the potential double benefits of increasing output potential while generating income for carbon storage.
The report calls for research to evaluate the potential of working tillage soils to accumulate soil carbon.
But it is not just carbon that matters and such research also needs to look at other long-term benefits, such as soil health, water-holding capacity, biodiversity, etc.
The option to add organic matter to tillage soils depends on them being available. The report calls for the development of logistics and slurry/water separation facilities to enhance the viability of manure movement from intensive livestock areas to tillage soils.
There is also a need to assess the relative benefits of different organic materials, plus sequences of different products, because most biological systems tend to work better with a mix of different feedstocks rather than just a single source.
However, the successful execution of such programmes may still depend on the development of incentives. These may be needed to encourage the use of organic manures from mushroom, pig and poultry production, as well as a proportion of other livestock manures, on tillage farms.
A new report entitled Crops 2030 – A strategic plan to deliver environmental and economic sustainability for the Irish Crops Sector was launched last week. The report, produced by the Teagasc tillage stakeholder consultative group, provides a review of the state of the industry, along with a set of suggested actions.
This report is an update of the Tillage Sector Development Plan 2012 and it is produced by a similar grouping of representatives from within the industry.
Background
The report gives a graphical representation of background facts such as average importation between 2014 and 2018 of:
3.4mt of feed ingredients.80,000t of potatoes.9.7m litres of food grade oil.210,000t of flour.The same period sees self-sufficiency in feed grains decrease from 41% in 2014 to 21% in 2018 with an average of 36% over the period. Self sufficiency is decreasing because feed demand is increasing and the area in tillage and cereal production has been decreasing.
The report identifies that the value of exports from the drinks industry is put at €1.4bn, which compares with €3.5bn for all meat exports and €4.4bn from dairy. The sector supplies grains for food, feed and drink manufacture.
Sustainability
Tillage land generally has a good emissions and sustainability profile. The report identifies that specialist Irish tillage farms emit an estimated 1.18t/ha of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e) greenhouse gases (GHG), which is much lower than the output from livestock, so the more land that is lost from crop production, the greater the obligation on the livestock sector to do more.
As markets demand increased sustainability, all agricultural producers are being asked to show improvement in this regard. As a result, it is now common for livestock producers to ask about the sustainability and emissions profile of feed ingredients, as this will become increasingly relevant for assurance schemes.
The report states that the CO2-e emissions figure for South American maize is 27t/ha (vs 1.18t for Irish grains). While this is likely to be among the worst ratings for GHG emissions (probably related to rainforest destruction), the equivalent figure for US maize is at 4.0t/ha CO2-e.
So, as livestock producers improve the carbon footprint of their businesses, the provenance of their feeds is likely to become increasingly important.
The report suggests that the relevant parties and Bord Bia come together to help find ways to promote the benefits of Irish grains and crops to help improve the sustainability of agriculture.
A carbon sink
While all agricultural soils are regarded as being stores for carbon, worn tillage soils have lower organic matter levels than grassland. This has two major consequences:
It is reducing the output potential of this land on an annual basis.It has greater potential to build organic matter and to store carbon.This situation provides the potential double benefits of increasing output potential while generating income for carbon storage.
The report calls for research to evaluate the potential of working tillage soils to accumulate soil carbon.
But it is not just carbon that matters and such research also needs to look at other long-term benefits, such as soil health, water-holding capacity, biodiversity, etc.
The option to add organic matter to tillage soils depends on them being available. The report calls for the development of logistics and slurry/water separation facilities to enhance the viability of manure movement from intensive livestock areas to tillage soils.
There is also a need to assess the relative benefits of different organic materials, plus sequences of different products, because most biological systems tend to work better with a mix of different feedstocks rather than just a single source.
However, the successful execution of such programmes may still depend on the development of incentives. These may be needed to encourage the use of organic manures from mushroom, pig and poultry production, as well as a proportion of other livestock manures, on tillage farms.
This is a subscriber-only article
SHARING OPTIONS: