The Forum for the Future of Agriculture (FFA) held a regional meeting in Dublin on Thursday, hosted by the European Landowners Organisation (ELO) and the local Irish Landowners Organisation (ILO).
The FFA describes itself as where “agriculture and environment meet for an open dialogue” and the event attracted a range of academics, landowners, farmers, environmentalists and NGOs form across Europe, the US and Australia.
The half-day conference was divided into three sections with Matt Dempsey, chair of the Agricultural Trust, the moderator.
The first session focused on the theme of climate change and agricultural production, followed by a session on the green deal – new EU reality and the final session focused on a theme of innovation and science for agriculture.
Matt Dempsey, chair of the Agricultural Trust, chaired the FFA meeting in Dublin. \ FFA2019
Climate change and agricultural production
The keynote speaker for this session was Prof Allan Buckwell from the RISE foundation.
RISE is a Brussels-based thinktank, which was set up by the former European Commissioner for Agriculture Franz Fischler in 2006, and is supported by the ELO and Friends of the Countryside.
Its ambition is to drive innovation in agriculture, rural areas and the environment through research.
Prof Buckwell spoke about UK ambitions and how the last act of Theresa May’s leadership was to emphasise the strong commitment of the UK to address emissions from agriculture (which is just 10% of UK emissions) and aviation.
He does not foresee increased UK beef imports post-Brexit because of a reduction in consumption
He was an advocate of reduction but not elimination of red meat consumption and reduction of food waste.
He does not foresee increased UK beef imports post-Brexit because of a reduction in consumption and advocates the use of land released from production for forestry, energy corps, agro forestry and peatland restoration.
Marta Zuluaga Zilbermann, director of policy relations for Cargill, pointed out that the world would require a 68% increase from 2010 levels in animal protein by 2050 to meet the demand of a growing population.
She said that this would have to be achieved in a sustainable way.
Change coming in agriculture
Blaž Kurnik, from the European Environment Agency, presented on how climate change would change the pattern of agriculture in the EU over coming decades.
Water pressure would increase further in the Mediterranean region, while the Atlantic regions of the EU, including Ireland, would experience an increase in heatwaves and droughts, coastal flooding, windstorms and risks to livestock production.
He also indicated that agricultural incomes are likely to fall by as much as 16% by 2050 and that land values will decrease, particularly in southern Europe, leading to land abandonment in some cases.
A lively discussion followed, with a strong focus by participants with a farming interest on how agricultural produce had become devalued
James Reilly, a tillage farmer from Co Kilkenny, described himself as a custodian of the land and highlighted how he farms in a less invasive way than he did 20 years ago with the use of technology minimising inputs.
A lively discussion followed, with a strong focus by participants with a farming interest on how agricultural produce had become devalued, reflected by the huge level of waste.
There was an inconclusive debate on how the value should be set for farm produce delivered to the standards demanded by the EU that are based on a precautionary principle rather than science.
The second session had a particularly strong environmental priority with presentations from Prof Peter Thorne, co-author of the IPCC’s report on land use, Oonagh Duggan from Birdwatch Ireland and Pierre Olivier Dredge, ELO president.
Professor Thorne from Maynooth University presented under three key themes:
Land is under growing human pressure.Land is part of the solution.Land can’t do it all.He also made interesting observations on how reduction of food loss and waste could lower emissions and improve food security in a world where 821m people are undernourished but 2 billion people are overweight.
Saying “better land management can play its part in tackling climate change, but it can’t do it all” suggested a balanced rather than an extreme position on the role of agriculture and land use in the climate debate.
Oonagh Duggan shared an interesting anecdote from her dairy farming childhood when a bull calf was worth over IR£200 compared with recent times when the value was just €10, a reflection of farming type and how it has changed.
The ELO president cautioned delegates to expect that 40% of the next CAP payments would be environment-based.
The importance of science in sustainable agriculture
The use of water was a recurring theme among presenters and delegates and one of the most pertinent points was made by a delegate from the floor highlighting how expensive high-quality drinking water is used for flushing toilets and washing cars.
This was highlighted as a waste and it should be preserved for human consumption with rainwater collected from roofs for cleaning.
John Gilliland, director of global agriculture and sustainability, Devenish. \ FFA2019
John Gilliland from Devenish explained how LiDAR technology, engaged originally by the company at its site at Dowth to scan for ancient monuments, is also able to accurately measure the volume of hedges.
The cost has fallen from €11/ac to €5/ac with drones able to replace more expensive helicopters.
The value of using hedges as a carbon sink can only be properly valued when they are accurately measured to reflect changes over time in size and area and this is identified as a way in which the Dowth farm aims to move towards carbon neutrality.
Devenish has developed a soil management policy bringing the average PH from 5.6 in February 2018 to 6.1 by February 2018.
Operating with two livestock units per hectare on the farm, without calculating the benefit of sequestration from the woodland and hedges, the carbon output would be 1,161t
This, along with measuring the volume of the trees and hedges, means that they can calculate the net carbon cost for livestock production on the 90ha farm located in a world heritage site in the Boyne Valley.
Operating with two livestock units per hectare on the farm, without calculating the benefit of sequestration from the woodland and hedges, the carbon output would be 1,161t.
However, when the benefit of the hedges and woodland is offset, this drops to net emissions of 504t of carbon annually. This is a reduction of 665t or 56% of all greenhouse gasses emitted on the farm.
The core point of this presentation is the need to measure the volume of hedges and woodland on farms to enable an accurate calculation be made of net emissions as opposed to gross emissions from agriculture in the absence of accurate measurement.
The Forum for the Future of Agriculture (FFA) held a regional meeting in Dublin on Thursday, hosted by the European Landowners Organisation (ELO) and the local Irish Landowners Organisation (ILO).
The FFA describes itself as where “agriculture and environment meet for an open dialogue” and the event attracted a range of academics, landowners, farmers, environmentalists and NGOs form across Europe, the US and Australia.
The half-day conference was divided into three sections with Matt Dempsey, chair of the Agricultural Trust, the moderator.
The first session focused on the theme of climate change and agricultural production, followed by a session on the green deal – new EU reality and the final session focused on a theme of innovation and science for agriculture.
Matt Dempsey, chair of the Agricultural Trust, chaired the FFA meeting in Dublin. \ FFA2019
Climate change and agricultural production
The keynote speaker for this session was Prof Allan Buckwell from the RISE foundation.
RISE is a Brussels-based thinktank, which was set up by the former European Commissioner for Agriculture Franz Fischler in 2006, and is supported by the ELO and Friends of the Countryside.
Its ambition is to drive innovation in agriculture, rural areas and the environment through research.
Prof Buckwell spoke about UK ambitions and how the last act of Theresa May’s leadership was to emphasise the strong commitment of the UK to address emissions from agriculture (which is just 10% of UK emissions) and aviation.
He does not foresee increased UK beef imports post-Brexit because of a reduction in consumption
He was an advocate of reduction but not elimination of red meat consumption and reduction of food waste.
He does not foresee increased UK beef imports post-Brexit because of a reduction in consumption and advocates the use of land released from production for forestry, energy corps, agro forestry and peatland restoration.
Marta Zuluaga Zilbermann, director of policy relations for Cargill, pointed out that the world would require a 68% increase from 2010 levels in animal protein by 2050 to meet the demand of a growing population.
She said that this would have to be achieved in a sustainable way.
Change coming in agriculture
Blaž Kurnik, from the European Environment Agency, presented on how climate change would change the pattern of agriculture in the EU over coming decades.
Water pressure would increase further in the Mediterranean region, while the Atlantic regions of the EU, including Ireland, would experience an increase in heatwaves and droughts, coastal flooding, windstorms and risks to livestock production.
He also indicated that agricultural incomes are likely to fall by as much as 16% by 2050 and that land values will decrease, particularly in southern Europe, leading to land abandonment in some cases.
A lively discussion followed, with a strong focus by participants with a farming interest on how agricultural produce had become devalued
James Reilly, a tillage farmer from Co Kilkenny, described himself as a custodian of the land and highlighted how he farms in a less invasive way than he did 20 years ago with the use of technology minimising inputs.
A lively discussion followed, with a strong focus by participants with a farming interest on how agricultural produce had become devalued, reflected by the huge level of waste.
There was an inconclusive debate on how the value should be set for farm produce delivered to the standards demanded by the EU that are based on a precautionary principle rather than science.
The second session had a particularly strong environmental priority with presentations from Prof Peter Thorne, co-author of the IPCC’s report on land use, Oonagh Duggan from Birdwatch Ireland and Pierre Olivier Dredge, ELO president.
Professor Thorne from Maynooth University presented under three key themes:
Land is under growing human pressure.Land is part of the solution.Land can’t do it all.He also made interesting observations on how reduction of food loss and waste could lower emissions and improve food security in a world where 821m people are undernourished but 2 billion people are overweight.
Saying “better land management can play its part in tackling climate change, but it can’t do it all” suggested a balanced rather than an extreme position on the role of agriculture and land use in the climate debate.
Oonagh Duggan shared an interesting anecdote from her dairy farming childhood when a bull calf was worth over IR£200 compared with recent times when the value was just €10, a reflection of farming type and how it has changed.
The ELO president cautioned delegates to expect that 40% of the next CAP payments would be environment-based.
The importance of science in sustainable agriculture
The use of water was a recurring theme among presenters and delegates and one of the most pertinent points was made by a delegate from the floor highlighting how expensive high-quality drinking water is used for flushing toilets and washing cars.
This was highlighted as a waste and it should be preserved for human consumption with rainwater collected from roofs for cleaning.
John Gilliland, director of global agriculture and sustainability, Devenish. \ FFA2019
John Gilliland from Devenish explained how LiDAR technology, engaged originally by the company at its site at Dowth to scan for ancient monuments, is also able to accurately measure the volume of hedges.
The cost has fallen from €11/ac to €5/ac with drones able to replace more expensive helicopters.
The value of using hedges as a carbon sink can only be properly valued when they are accurately measured to reflect changes over time in size and area and this is identified as a way in which the Dowth farm aims to move towards carbon neutrality.
Devenish has developed a soil management policy bringing the average PH from 5.6 in February 2018 to 6.1 by February 2018.
Operating with two livestock units per hectare on the farm, without calculating the benefit of sequestration from the woodland and hedges, the carbon output would be 1,161t
This, along with measuring the volume of the trees and hedges, means that they can calculate the net carbon cost for livestock production on the 90ha farm located in a world heritage site in the Boyne Valley.
Operating with two livestock units per hectare on the farm, without calculating the benefit of sequestration from the woodland and hedges, the carbon output would be 1,161t.
However, when the benefit of the hedges and woodland is offset, this drops to net emissions of 504t of carbon annually. This is a reduction of 665t or 56% of all greenhouse gasses emitted on the farm.
The core point of this presentation is the need to measure the volume of hedges and woodland on farms to enable an accurate calculation be made of net emissions as opposed to gross emissions from agriculture in the absence of accurate measurement.
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