Top Tips to cut dairy carbon emisions from Farmers Weekly

[Enry]

How a 2,600-cow housed herd drove down carbon emissions - Farmers Weekly

Integration of dairy and arable enterprises, targeted use of nutrients and a focus on feed sourcing have been the driving forces behind a 40% drop in

www.fwi.co.uk

Great to see how a typical 2600 cow herd which belongs to a chap worth £10bn is helping save the planet - Tesco getting some "low carbon" milk.

Odds on to win Gold Cup next year I'd say

 

[Wesley]

I’d imagine its a little bit easier when you’ve got thousands & thousands of acres at your disposal.

 

[O'Reilly]

I’d imagine its a little bit easier when you’ve got thousands & thousands of millions of pounds at your disposal.

Fixed that for you

 

[DairyNerd]

0.47kg per litre feed rate is carbon efficient?

 

[organicguy]

Feeding grain produces less methane.
Our footprint is 85% enteric fermentation.

 

[Spudley]

Yep, we are a low yielding herd and our carbon footprint is disproportionately high because each cows methane output is spread over a small number of litres. Our feed rate is in the region of 0.18.

 

[How Dairy]

In fairness, getting to a stage where your forage is grown purely from targeted slurry usage is pretty good and something most farmers could aim for although I can see big challenges particularly with Phosphate. Also, the idea of cover crops after maize is totally transferable to most farms. I just wonder what the fields will look like post harvest if this weather continues.

The biggest challenge of removing soya from the feed (for an entire industry) has to be cost of rape meal and subsequent availability... so probably quite easy if just a few 'pioneers' do it.

The challenge to this is all in the accounting and whether it is correct. As far as I am aware the renewables would not be accounted in the audit would they? I think that should change but that was my understanding.

It is interesting but not sure how relatable it is to a standard 180 cow herd (or even a 500 cow herd at high stocking rate for that matter)

 

[Wesley]

Just had a quick look to refresh my memory of our latest carbon footprint rubbish. I know it doesn’t really mean anything but the address of the company who have done it made me chuckle in regards to this thread

 

[bar718]

In fairness, getting to a stage where your forage is grown purely from targeted slurry usage is pretty good and something most farmers could aim for although I can see big challenges particularly with Phosphate. Also, the idea of cover crops after maize is totally transferable to most farms. I just wonder what the fields will look like post harvest if this weather continues.

The biggest challenge of removing soya from the feed (for an entire industry) has to be cost of rape meal and subsequent availability... so probably quite easy if just a few 'pioneers' do it.

The challenge to this is all in the accounting and whether it is correct. As far as I am aware the renewables would not be accounted in the audit would they? I think that should change but that was my understanding.

It is interesting but not sure how relatable it is to a standard 180 cow herd (or even a 500 cow herd at high stocking rate for that matter)

On renewables to account for them on farm would mean any electricity exported could not be classed as renewable as any carbon savings from its generation will of already of been taken into account on your farm so the person buying that electricity cannot claim it as renewable otherwise we get into double accounting.
Complete mine field once you look into it.

 

[How Dairy]

Just had a quick look to refresh my memory of our latest carbon footprint rubbish. I know it doesn’t really mean anything but the address of the company who have done it made me chuckle in regards to this thread

I'm actually just impressed you read every word of your emails!!

 

[Wesley]

I'm actually just impressed you read every word of your emails!!

It was only because it was just above a pdf I had to open & caught my eye. I’m also one of lifes weirdos that generally notices everything but the thing I’m supposed to be looking at

 

[Enry]

0.47kg per litre feed rate is carbon efficient?

They certainly chuck it at them...went round years ago - very nice cow environment, but essentially a factory farm to any consumer I'd say...

 

[Enry]

Just had a quick look to refresh my memory of our latest carbon footprint rubbish. I know it doesn’t really mean anything but the address of the company who have done it made me chuckle in regards to this thread

AB Agri certainly have every base covered -
carbon footprint for milk buyers, tick,
supply feed, tick,
own NMR, Tick,
own Kite Consulting, Tick

Main sponsors I think

 

[Enry]

In fairness, getting to a stage where your forage is grown purely from targeted slurry usage is pretty good and something most farmers could aim for although I can see big challenges particularly with Phosphate. Also, the idea of cover crops after maize is totally transferable to most farms. I just wonder what the fields will look like post harvest if this weather continues.

The biggest challenge of removing soya from the feed (for an entire industry) has to be cost of rape meal and subsequent availability... so probably quite easy if just a few 'pioneers' do it.

The challenge to this is all in the accounting and whether it is correct. As far as I am aware the renewables would not be accounted in the audit would they? I think that should change but that was my understanding.

It is interesting but not sure how relatable it is to a standard 180 cow herd (or even a 500 cow herd at high stocking rate for that matter)

Most if not all of the other big boys end up carting slurry and silage for tens of miles, carbon footprint then uses "average" fuel use for an acre of silage by contractor! so the same amount for the 120 acre guy in a rig fence as a 2000 cow dairy hauling silage and slurry 15 miles

 

[Wesley]

So the lesson from all of this is to have an industry leading carbon footprint the easiest way is to own a large estate. Now where’s my cheque book…

 

[Princess Pooper]

On renewables to account for them on farm would mean any electricity exported could not be classed as renewable as any carbon savings from its generation will of already of been taken into account on your farm so the person buying that electricity cannot claim it as renewable otherwise we get into double accounting.
Complete mine field once you look into it.

No, it's the other way round. The renewable energy exported is 'claimed' by the energy industry not the farm.

 

[curlietailz]

How a 2,600-cow housed herd drove down carbon emissions - Farmers Weekly

Integration of dairy and arable enterprises, targeted use of nutrients and a focus on feed sourcing have been the driving forces behind a 40% drop in

www.fwi.co.uk

Great to see how a typical 2600 cow herd which belongs to a chap worth £10bn is helping save the planet - Tesco getting some "low carbon" milk.

Odds on to win Gold Cup next year I'd say

Why not just stop producing any milk. Sod them. The dairy processing g and cheese industry might have something to say if there wasn’t any milk produced

 

[How Dairy]

So the lesson from all of this is to have an industry leading carbon footprint the easiest way is to own a large estate. Now where’s my cheque book…

Well there is this, https://ahdb.org.uk/baselining, which could level the playing field a bit. To actually have Tier 3 figures on sequestration would help.

Next we need to make sure the National Inventory adequately credits farmers based on land use - so farmers who produce their own energy or who plant trees actually get credit for it against their carbon footprint. Interesting session on this at Groundswell this year... when the recording is out, I will add it here.

After that, we need some sort of measurable for biodiversity that credits farmers too. If they think biodiversity is a good thing for farming AND nature, surely they shouldn't penalise farmers for being less efficient in the name of increasing biodiversity when it effects their Carbon footprint??! So if you grow several species of grass in your ryegrass, is that better? How much better? Is it as productive? If not, how do you increase that biodiversity whilst maintaining production in these high yielding systems? More importantly, why would they if they aren't getting credit/paid for it?

 

[bar718]

No, it's the other way round. The renewable energy exported is 'claimed' by the energy industry not the farm.

Exactly hence why the credit for the renewable goes to the user of the electricity and not the generator

 

[DaveGrohl]

Exactly hence why the credit for the renewable goes to the user of the electricity and not the generator

Why would they be "credited"? Surely, from the users point of view, they have mainly used no electric effectively and so have no emissions from electric. Where does an actual "credit" come into it?

From the farmer’s POV who is actually producing the "carbon free" electricity, there should be a credit as it’s reducing fossil fuel use at the end recipient (electricity user/buyer). Does the farmer not get any credit for this in any of the fekked up calculators?