Highly stocked livestock farms can significantly reduce their carbon footprint without cutting numbers, farmers heard at an on-farm event organised by the ARCZero project.

The event, hosted by Roger and Hillary Bell, is the first in a series of farm walks outlining how farmers can move towards net zero.

On the Bell farm, which carries 500 breeding ewes and 70 beef cattle on 78ha at Kells, Co Antrim, a baseline carbon audit shows the business currently offsets 55% of gross greenhouse gas emissions (GHG).

“To start with a baseline of 55% of GHG already being sequestered from existing farming methods is a positive for us. It shows farmers have nothing to fear from doing a carbon audit.

While it will be a challenge, we are only just beginning to make changes to lower our net carbon” said host farmer Roger Bell.

The main GHG sources on the farm come from livestock (36%), fertiliser (39%) and manure management (15%).

LESSE is more

Farmers heard how low emission slurry spreading equipment (LESSE) such as a trailing shoe will reduce GHG emissions by 30%, while increasing nutrient availability by 20%. In addition, multi species swards on the farm are grown without chemical applications, and potentially could reduce emissions by a further 9%.

The 500 ewe flock has a lambing percentage around 200% with 90% of lambs finished off grass by autumn.

“We are reducing emissions by reducing days to slaughter and maximising kilos of lamb sold per ewe unit.

“We want ewes with two lambs at foot. Ewes produce the same emissions with a single lamb,” outlined Roger.

Lambs sold for slaughter are on average 42 days younger compared to the average farm measured through the carbon benchmarking programme, Agrecalc.

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