Why retailers want to know about a farm’s carbon footprint

Could a lower carbon footprint open the door to new rewards for farmers as retailers put greater value on sustainability?

The retail sector is prepared to pay premium prices for dairy products; but this comes with one important proviso.

The independently verified information to confirm that milk producers are delivering on their sustainability priorities at farm level must be made available.

This was one of the key points highlighted at a dairy conference jointly hosted by the Ulster Farmers Union, the Dairy Council for Northern Ireland, AgriSearch and the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE).

Dale Farm’s Ed Wright commented: “Our customers want to know about our carbon footprint and how it is made up.

“This is an issue that farmers should not be afraid of. Looking ahead, there is every prospect that retailers will pay a direct sustainability incentive to farmers.”

According to Wright, this issue is “at the heart of the value-added agenda that every processer wants to engage with”.

“However, I am concerned at the amount of time it is taking to get these processes up and running in a meaningful way.

“As a region, Northern Ireland is small enough to ensure that meaningful improvements in sustainable production standards can be achieved across the dairy sector as a whole,” he said.

The conference took place against the backdrop of numerous schemes getting off the ground in Northern Ireland, all geared towards ascertaining the quantitative impact of production agriculture in terms of its overall efficiency levels and environmental footprint.

Attending the recent dairy conference, hosted at Greenmount College in Co. Antrim, (l-r): Rory Farrell, Lakeland Dairies; Ben Williams, Leprino; Ian Stevenson, Dairy Council for Northern Ireland; Jason Rankin, AgriSearch

Leprino Foods’ Ben Williams commented: “Data is of no value unless it is acted upon.

“So, for example, there is no point keeping cows that are genetically programmed to produce 10,000L of milk in facilities that are suited to 8,000L output levels.

“Data alone does not change behaviour. Farmers must commit to change.

“But there is no silver bullet within this scenario. Improvements at farm level will only happen on an incremental basis over time.”

Genomics

Meanwhile, full herd genomic assessment has been identified as being integral to the securing of improved dairy herd performance levels.

It was a point discussed in detail by Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) breeding specialist, Marco Winters.

He confirmed that dairy breeding stock should be genomically assessed at the earliest possible age, adding:

“Genomics can be used to identify those young animals that are best suited form a future breeding point of view.

“But of equal importance is the use of genomics to identify those animals that should not be sued within a breeding programme.

“Making one bad herd breeding decision can set back an entire herd development programme for a number of generations.”

Work carried out by AHDB has confirmed the use of genomic assessment as a way of securing enhanced gains in terms of milk production, milk quality and animal health traits.

The technology can also be used to lower the environmental footprint of all dairy farming enterprises.

AHDB makes this information available courtesy of its EnviroCow Index.

The plan is to include methane efficiency within the dairy breeding tool in the very near future.

Methane production values across the entire commercial spectrum of UK dairy farming systems will be measured over the coming months.

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