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The average Irish dairy farm produces more than twice the level of carbon emissions than the average beef farm in Ireland, according to Teagasc.
Speaking on Friday morning as part of the latest ‘Signpost Series’ of online webinars on sustainable agriculture, Teagasc research officer Dr Donal O’Brien said the average suckler beef farm produced just over 4t of C02 equivalent/ha, compared to the average Irish dairy farm, which produces 9t of C02 equivalent/ha.
Climate neutral Irish Beef farm would need to afforest 1/4ha to be Zero; compared to dairy farm which would have to plant 3/4ha - more research required Dr Donal O'Brien #TeagascJC @GaryLanigan1 @teagasc @TeagascGrass10 @teagascforestry pic.twitter.com/kWnI0AG2CH
— Teagasc Environment (@TeagascEnviron) August 14, 2020
Sequestration
During his presentation, O’Brien also outlined the high level of carbon capture (sequestration) on Irish beef and dairy farms, with C02 being sucked out of the atmosphere by soils, grasslands and hedgerows.
Using conservative estimates, the average Irish beef farm captures enough C02 from the atmosphere to offset 45% of all emissions. In order to achieve carbon neutrality, O’Brien said the average Irish beef farmer would need to plant a quarter of a hectare (0.6ac) in trees to become carbon neutral.
In many lower-stocked, more extensive beef farm systems, the rate of carbon sequestration is already likely high enough to make the farm carbon neutral, or to have zero net emissions, said O’Brien.
Carbon neutrality
The average dairy farm in Ireland likely captures enough C02 from the atmosphere via soils and hedgerows to offset more than 20% of all emissions. O’Brien said the distance to carbon neutrality for dairy farms is further when compared to beef.
However, if the average sized dairy farm planted two-thirds of a hectare (1.85ac) in trees, this would bring the farm very close to carbon neutrality.
While acknowledging that carbon sequestration plays an important role on Irish farms, O’Brien said there was still a large knowledge gap in this area and further research was needed to more accurately ascertain carbon sequestration levels on Irish farms.
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