Irish tillage farms can be carbon neutral and, indeed, some tillage farms probably are already.
Teagasc's Gary Lanigan presented some news the tillage industry has been waiting for on Thursday 10 February.
The researcher, who was speaking at a Teagasc malting barley webinar, showed how a 100ha tillage farm growing spring barley, winter wheat and beans could sequester the carbon it emits through the use of cover crops, improved soil health, straw incorporation and many other techniques.
The tillage industry has long been promoting its low emissions, but lacks detail on those emissions.
The data shared by Gary is hopefully a sign of things to come as more research continues into this area.
Table 1 details the on-farm emissions and actions taken to sequester carbon.
On tillage farms, the main greenhouse gas emissions are from nitrous oxide, while carbon dioxide is released from field operations, transport and drying grain.
Figures were also added to show the emissions created in the manufacture of fertiliser and plant protection products.
Carbon-emitting factors
When all of the carbon-emitting factors were added together and the carbon sequestering activities were taken away from this figure, the table shows that 106g of CO2e were produced per 1kg of grain.
However, when hedgerow management on the farm improved (on 12km of hedgerows) and carbon sequestration from a 1ha area of broadleaf woodland was taken into account, the farm was actually carbon positive. This means it was sequestering more carbon than it was emitting – 3.4t more.
It should be noted there were no animals on this farm and this was a farm on a plough-based establishment system.
Research
Research is beginning this year measuring emissions using carbon flux towers on direct-drill establishment systems and Gary expects to have initial results on this in the next 12 months.
He noted that minimum-tillage increases soil carbon in the top soil, but this carbon does not move very far down the soil profile.
Soil organic matter is important to improve soil quality and decrease fertiliser use, so storing carbon on-farm can also help to reduce inputs. However, Gary was keen to point out that carbon sequestration is reversible, so these techniques need to be carried out continuously.
Techniques to increase carbon storage
Straw incorporation – 10% to 20% of carbon incorporated with straw will remain in the soil as carbon.Crop rotation – crop rotation including grass leys can increase soil organic carbon.Cover crops – can increase stored carbon in the soil.Planting woodland and improving hedgerow management can lead to a carbon neutral farm. Allowing hedgerows to grow out and up can quadruple the amount of carbon stored.No-tillage establishment system – as soil is not being disturbed dramatically with a plough or with minimum-tillage systems, carbon is not released in massive quantities.Footprint v inventory
The carbon footprint includes the total emissions from the production of the end product.
However, these emissions do not contribute to the national inventory of Ireland’s total emissions.
If, for example, fertiliser is produced in another country, those carbon emissions are accounted for in the country where the fertiliser is produced, but are accounted for in the carbon footprint of the product they were used to produce.
This data has brought some positivity to people in the tillage sector and continued research can lead to marketing opportunities to sell carbon-neutral or carbon-positive products.
However, the real question is whether it will give recognition to the sector and if the Government will now stand up and support it.
If tillage farms can be carbon positive, they should be rewarded for offsetting emissions from other sectors.
The tillage area has stabilised in the past three years, but faces a massive challenge on input prices this year and a CAP which will see incomes drop dramatically in 2023.
Tillage farmers are likely to exit the sector, as vegetable farmers are now, unless major changes come.
Climate change and carbon emissions targets are at the forefront of most discussions on agriculture at present. Here is a solution to some of those emissions.
If the sector was more attractive, more land may be planted to tillage crops and this could help to reduce the country’s emissions.
So far, this has failed to be considered. The data is there now and more is coming. It’s time for action.
Irish tillage farms can be carbon neutral and, indeed, some tillage farms probably are already.
Teagasc's Gary Lanigan presented some news the tillage industry has been waiting for on Thursday 10 February.
The researcher, who was speaking at a Teagasc malting barley webinar, showed how a 100ha tillage farm growing spring barley, winter wheat and beans could sequester the carbon it emits through the use of cover crops, improved soil health, straw incorporation and many other techniques.
The tillage industry has long been promoting its low emissions, but lacks detail on those emissions.
The data shared by Gary is hopefully a sign of things to come as more research continues into this area.
Table 1 details the on-farm emissions and actions taken to sequester carbon.
On tillage farms, the main greenhouse gas emissions are from nitrous oxide, while carbon dioxide is released from field operations, transport and drying grain.
Figures were also added to show the emissions created in the manufacture of fertiliser and plant protection products.
Carbon-emitting factors
When all of the carbon-emitting factors were added together and the carbon sequestering activities were taken away from this figure, the table shows that 106g of CO2e were produced per 1kg of grain.
However, when hedgerow management on the farm improved (on 12km of hedgerows) and carbon sequestration from a 1ha area of broadleaf woodland was taken into account, the farm was actually carbon positive. This means it was sequestering more carbon than it was emitting – 3.4t more.
It should be noted there were no animals on this farm and this was a farm on a plough-based establishment system.
Research
Research is beginning this year measuring emissions using carbon flux towers on direct-drill establishment systems and Gary expects to have initial results on this in the next 12 months.
He noted that minimum-tillage increases soil carbon in the top soil, but this carbon does not move very far down the soil profile.
Soil organic matter is important to improve soil quality and decrease fertiliser use, so storing carbon on-farm can also help to reduce inputs. However, Gary was keen to point out that carbon sequestration is reversible, so these techniques need to be carried out continuously.
Techniques to increase carbon storage
Straw incorporation – 10% to 20% of carbon incorporated with straw will remain in the soil as carbon.Crop rotation – crop rotation including grass leys can increase soil organic carbon.Cover crops – can increase stored carbon in the soil.Planting woodland and improving hedgerow management can lead to a carbon neutral farm. Allowing hedgerows to grow out and up can quadruple the amount of carbon stored.No-tillage establishment system – as soil is not being disturbed dramatically with a plough or with minimum-tillage systems, carbon is not released in massive quantities.Footprint v inventory
The carbon footprint includes the total emissions from the production of the end product.
However, these emissions do not contribute to the national inventory of Ireland’s total emissions.
If, for example, fertiliser is produced in another country, those carbon emissions are accounted for in the country where the fertiliser is produced, but are accounted for in the carbon footprint of the product they were used to produce.
This data has brought some positivity to people in the tillage sector and continued research can lead to marketing opportunities to sell carbon-neutral or carbon-positive products.
However, the real question is whether it will give recognition to the sector and if the Government will now stand up and support it.
If tillage farms can be carbon positive, they should be rewarded for offsetting emissions from other sectors.
The tillage area has stabilised in the past three years, but faces a massive challenge on input prices this year and a CAP which will see incomes drop dramatically in 2023.
Tillage farmers are likely to exit the sector, as vegetable farmers are now, unless major changes come.
Climate change and carbon emissions targets are at the forefront of most discussions on agriculture at present. Here is a solution to some of those emissions.
If the sector was more attractive, more land may be planted to tillage crops and this could help to reduce the country’s emissions.
So far, this has failed to be considered. The data is there now and more is coming. It’s time for action.
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