The year ahead will be critical for groundwork to create rules by which farmers must abide once the UK leaves the EU. Defra secretary Michael Gove’s Agriculture bill will set out a post-EU framework, and hitting climate-change emission targets will be a key theme to the new policy. The UK and Scottish Governments expect agriculture to play a significant role in reducing emissions, and the industry can ill afford to bury its head in the sand.

Whether or not you are a climate-change sceptic, most popular political parties all want to reduce emissions and move to a lower-carbon economy. Agriculture accounts for 17% of total Scottish emissions, so there is no way the farming sector will fly below the radar. It is critical that we are on the front foot to offer a farmer-friendly solution to prevent poor rules being implemented.

From 1997 to 2007 steady progress was made in reducing emissions in Scottish agriculture, but since then the trend has been fairly flat. The Climate Change committee, a panel of experts set up to advise the Scottish government, has picked up on this fact.

Alarmingly, the committee is critical of the Scottish Government’s voluntary approach for calling on ministers to make tougher rules that force farmers to alter their farming practice. This year we need to be on the front foot to ensure there is an industry-friendly solution woven into the UK and Scottish Governments’ target plans.

So far the energy sector has delivered most of the emission reductions to help Scotland keep on target. Their carbon emissions decreased significantly between 2014 and 2015, by 21%, and is now 48% below 1990 levels. These dramatic reductions are likely to slow in the future, as so much of our electricity is powered by renewables. This is turning the focus to transport, nonresidential buildings and agriculture to help hit targets.

The Scottish Government’s forestry grant scheme is very popular, and successful application rates are high. However, forestry expansion is taking place too much and too quickly in some parts of the country. Climate change targets need to be met, but the industry needs more influence on where trees are being planted.

Since 2012, around 40,000 hectares have been planted, well below the rate needed to reach Scotland’s target of 100,000 new hectares planted by 2022.

Consideration must be given to the farmer who finds their business unviable though the unstocked hills draining livestock from their farm. In addition, the cost of farmland for forestry is pricing farmers out of the market. Due to forestry land price inflation, tenants are being offered the option to buy their farms, but at impossible prices.

The £375,000 per year Farming for a Better Climate initiative is the flagship plan to encourage farmers to change their practice to reduce emissions.

I have attended a number of the SAC-run meetings, which are well-intended, with experts highlighting potential win-wins for climate change and farm-efficiency. However, the scale of the operation is not enough to deliver the changes that the Scottish Government needs if it wants to hit targets.

The Scottish Government has signed up to reducing agricultural emissions by 17% to 6.9Mt in 2032, from 8.3Mt in 2015. We need to use 2018 to devise climate change measures that can fit with industry once we leave the EU. The energy sector hit their targets by cutting out big polluters like coal. We cannot allow a similar solution to hammering meat producers to be emulated in our industry.

If we jump before we are pushed at least we have an idea where we might land.