Planning approval has been granted and construction is expected to begin later this year on a new Ruminant Emissions Research Facility at the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) Hillsborough site in Co Down.

The new facility includes two new cubicle houses and a milking parlour, along with two 250m3 above-ground slurry tanks.

It will be used to measure performance of ruminant livestock and all gaseous emissions (methane, ammonia and nitrous oxide) either from the animals or indirectly from manures.

A spokesperson for AFBI confirmed that the facility is being built in response to government policies and demands from within the food supply chain to reduce greenhouse gases and ammonia from agriculture.

“It is well known that NI must achieve significant reductions in these emissions to meet regulatory targets, including at least a 20% cut in ammonia emissions by 2030 from current levels and a considerable reduction in agricultural greenhouse gases by 2050,” said the spokesperson.

They maintained that the new facility will be “a unique asset” and only one of a few in Europe.

Various potential interventions to reduce emissions will be assessed including slurry additives, different flooring systems and changes in diets.

Construction is expected to begin later this year and be complete by early summer 2027.

“Initial trials, likely focused on flooring systems, are expected to commence in 2028,” the spokesperson added.

That work should help to address a local concern around the way greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions from housed systems are assessed – the figures don’t currently take into account potentially lower emissions from slatted housing as opposed to solid floors.

UFU meeting

At the final Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) president’s roadshow in Omagh, Co Tyrone last week, concerns were expressed from members that the new facility is just being built to test methane suppressing feed additives, such as Bovaer.

The concerns were generally rejected by the UFU leadership.

“My hope is that it will bring better scientific argument. For example, the figures that are used around ammonia emissions from livestock are far too high. This type of facility gives us the opportunity to develop homegrown NI science which works on NI farms and shapes policy,” said UFU deputy leader John McLenaghan.

“It will be more than Bovaer for sure. We have to be prepared to use science to get us the correct decisions,” he added.

“Ten years’ research is pencilled in. It will be a credit to NI agriculture if they do get it and it will help us all in the long run,” said UFU president William Irvine.