One of the main challenges highlighted at the annual Teagasc agri-environment conference is meeting the targets set out for protecting water quality and reducing emissions. According to Teagasc principal research officer Dr Gary Lanigan, Ireland will have to reduce its gaseous emissions by 30%, relative to its 2005 emissions by 2030. This target was set out by the European Commission last year.

On the other hand, the Irish Government has set out its ambitions for increases in agricultural production in the Food Wise 2025 strategy. “Approximately 33% of our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions come from agriculture and just 3% come from industry, which is unusual for a developed country,” said Lanigan.

“The average industry emissions in other EU countries is around 15%,” he explained. Additionally, “virtually all of the ammonia emissions, around 98%, come from agriculture”, Lanigan said. He believes with this high level of ammonia emissions and GHG emissions coming from the agriculture sector we cannot ignore the problem and have to take steps to make reductions. Lanigan said the main focus of research into reducing GHGs includes:

  • Abatement strategies for reducing methane production: this means a method of reducing methane, either by improving the efficiencies on a per-animal basis (fewer animals are needed to meet production targets) or improving fertility (reducing the need for replacements).
  • Mitigation of N2O and ammonia production from housing systems and agricultural soils: this means reducing the gaseous losses from livestock slurry and artificial fertiliser by making adjustments to management. For example, mitigation research is focused on slurry additives during storage, better timed use of slurry and improved application technique, novel fertiliser formulation, etc.
  • Carbon sequestration via land management or land use change: emissions can also be offset by removal of a portion of CO2 via photosynthesis. This can be achieved via the planting of forestry, optimal fertilisation and cover cropping, which can either increase soil carbon sequestration or reduce losses.

    • Protected urea

    One novel way Teagasc is investigating to decrease the level of GHG and ammonia emissions is through the use of protected urea products. Urea can be stabilised with a urease inhibitor (NBPT, for example) to minimise nitrogen loss as ammonia as urea converts to ammonium. Dr Patrick Forrestal from Teagasc, Johnstown Castle, said that simply using nitrogen in the form of protected urea has the potential to decrease emissions without reducing fertiliser rates, so farmers can “reduce the environmental footprint of their production without sacrificing yield or increasing costs”.

    “For example substituting 50% of the CAN spread on farms with urea plus NBPT could give a GHG saving equivalent to the amount of methane produced by approximately 106,000 dairy cows,” said Forrestal. He explained that research carried out by Teagasc comparing protected urea with CAN and untreated urea showed promising results. The main results showed:

  • Protected urea is consistently as efficient as CAN with regard to nitrogen recovery and better than untreated urea.
  • Protected urea has a much lower and a less variable GHG emission loss than CAN in Irish grassland.
  • Protected urea and untreated urea has a similar yield performance to CAN when used continuously throughout the year.
  • In terms of ammonia loss, protected urea has been shown to cut losses by 79% on average compared with untreated urea. The results showed that ammonia loss from protected urea was not significantly different to CAN.

    • Table 1 shows the relative star ratings of each N fertiliser option. In short, each has its own strengths and weaknesses. However, Forrestal says the treated urea was the best all-rounder when both agronomic and environmental performance are considered together. In terms of cost, he said treated urea should be competitive with CAN, which is currently the main straight nitrogen used in Ireland.

    “The GHG reduction benefits that can be achieved in a practical way for farmers without yield compromise makes protected urea an option which policymakers and the agri-food industry should examine closely as a tool to help achieve the sustainability goals of a growing industry,” said Forrestal.

    Water quality

    Ireland’s water quality was also a hot topic at the conference. According to Jenny Deakin from the EPA, 45% of rivers, 54% of lakes, 68% of estuaries, 24% of coastal waters and 8% of groundwaters monitored had unsatisfactory water quality. This was over a period ranging from 2013 to 2015.

    Deakin believes that agriculture is a significant pressure in approximately 60% of impacted rivers and lakes. She said a more targeted approach to rectifying these issues will be required. “After assessments are carried out in at-risk catchments to investigate what the problems are, we can then figure out how best to deal with them,” she explained. Deakin said that over €8bn was spent between the years 2000 to 2014 and there has only been a 5% improvement in our water quality. This is why a new approach is required, she explained.

    In addition to reducing our emissions, speakers at the conference also referred to the need to uphold our green image internationally. Joe Crockett, chair of the Dairy Sustainability Working Group, said pressure is also mounting on Irish agriculture to back up its green credentials with more evidence and facts. “International markets are ever more strongly focused on the environment and there is increasing international demand for environmentally sustainable products,” explained Crockett. He said Food Wise 2025 and Origin Green have ambitions for Ireland to be a world leader in sustainable agriculture. This, he believes, will differentiate our products from others with the strength of evidence-based data to underpin Irish brands.

    Systems are being developed in a pilot project led by Teagasc and Bord Bia to include farmland habitats in assessments of sustainability at farm level. Teagasc research officer Dr John Finn said that Irish farms do not receive any credit for biodiversity and farmland wildlife habitat. This is despite the abundance of hedgerows, ponds, woodlands and species-rich grasslands on Irish farmland. ‘‘With the aid of habitat maps based on aerial imagery, a reasonable estimation of different habitats on farms can be identified,’’ he said. The use of these habitat maps can satisfy the requirements of sustainable assessment criteria such as the sustainability assessment initiative (SAI) platform. Finn said many Irish agri-food companies are seeking environmental accreditation through benchmarking against internationally recognised standards such as the SAI platform.