Grassland should be reduced by up to 36% or 4.5m hectares across the UK in order to meet climate change targets, according to a report from their Climate Action Committee.

The reduction in grassland would also mean a considerable reduction in cattle and sheep numbers of potentially up to 20%.

The report entitled Land use: Reducing emissions suggests that better grazing management, improved genetic selection and increasing stocking numbers in poorly stocked regions will help to reduce carbon emissions.

Livestock moving to other types of grasslands

“The increase in stocking density is achieved by assuming rough grazing land (which tends to be the least productive land) is freed up, with livestock moving to other types of grasslands,” the report says.

It suggests that land should be stocked at a rate of 1.5LU/ha, which would still be under what is considered the intensive rate of 2.5LU/ha.

It also pointed out that 7% of large farms in the country produced 55% of the output on just 30% of the land, meaning that output per hectare was nearly three times higher than on smaller farms.

Growing population

The report outlines that the population of the UK is expected to grow by up to 9m by 2050, and more land will be needed to house the population. Therefore, more land will need to be freed up.

By driving efficiency, the report claims that current rates of farm production can be maintained but cited farmer “inertia” as a barrier to climate change improvements.

UK climate report

It highlights Brexit as an opportunity, where the UK can implement changes quickly to target agricultural practices and improve emission rates.

Also included in the report are suggestions about:

  • Increasing forest cover from 13% of all UK land to up to 19% by 2050.
  • Restoring 55% to 70% of peatlands.
  • Promoting the use of agro-forestry (the practice of growing trees within a livestock agricultural system).
  • While many farmers will have heard about the need to become more efficient, many may be startled by what seems a radical change to farming techniques.

    It will also strike some farmers as hypocritical, given that the UK farming secretary Michael Gove has emphasised the need for farmers to protect and maintain the British landscape.

    Any plan to create more industrial or residential areas on agricultural land for a growing population would seem to compromise Gove’s plan.

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