Boortmalt and a European company Soil Capital met with grain suppliers this week, with meetings in Athy, Bunclody and Cork, to outline a pilot programme that may provide an additional another income stream to farmers.

The pilot programme plans to measure growers’ carbon emissions and reward them for actions taken to reduce those, while also examining if carbon has been stored to allow a carbon certificate to be sold.

Actions like planting cover crops, straw chopping, the application of organic manures and crop rotations can all result in payment, while there could also be a payment for sequestering carbon.

The pilot is a major step forward. Boortmalt could be the first company to purchase carbon certificates from Irish tillage farmers under the pilot.

IFA grain committee chair, Kieran McEvoy told the Irish Farmers Journal that it a positive start.

“There is a lot to be discussed. We would like to work with Boortmalt and Soil Capital to resolve some issues,” he said.

McEvoy added there needs to be more consultation, of which there had not been enough so far.

John Murphy of Wexford IFA said that “this cannot prop up the price of malting barley”, and it needs to be a standalone income from the price of grain.

Boortmalt’s aim is to reduce emissions from grain by 30% by 2030.

Growers could receive payments from €6/t, to possibly €13-15/t. However, growers at the meetings were not impressed to hear of a €600 sign-up charge and a charge of €1.25/ac, or a minimum charge of €300/farm, thereafter.

Food Vision report

This pilot would be a good start and may help to provide an example for the Government’s Food Vision Tillage report that has an action to “develop industry led initiatives that support the economic and environmental sustainability of tillage”.