New climate targets in the draft agri-food strategy to 2030 would require a reduction of 400,000 cattle and a slashing of fertiliser use on farms.

A 10% reduction in biogenic methane is proposed, translating to a cut of up to 400,000 cattle in the absence of new technology being developed.

There is a target for 10% of farmland to be prioritised for biodiversity. This would equate to 8ac on the average farm, or the total land area of Tipperary, by 2030.

The use of nitrogen fertiliser will also be cut by 55,000t and the area under organic farming is set to more than treble.

The targets set out by industry stakeholders including farm organisations under the strategy are broadly in line with the climate action bill, which sparked uproar among rural TDs in the Dáil on Wednesday.

Minister for Climate Eamon Ryan’s contention that the bill would be “the protection of the Irish family farm” was met with heckles and jeers from rural TDs.

The strategy, in tandem with the Dáil debate, gives first sight of the hurdles farmers will face and the changes they will be expected to make in the coming decade.