A Business Case for Climate Neutrality in Pasture-Based Dairy Production Systems in Ireland: Evidence from Farm Zero C

By inergency On Jan 25, 2024

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1. Introduction

Irish agriculture has the potential to become a global leader in sustainable food systems through the production, marketing and management of low-carbon food. According to Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine [1], the agricultural sector contributed 9.5% of Irish merchandising exports and approximately EUR 18.7 billion to the value of agri-food exports in 2022. The sector underpins much of rural Ireland, with over 170,400 (7.1% of total employment) people employed in the agri-food sector [1]. Ireland exports 90% of its food products to 160 countries worldwide, contributing directly to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of global food security (SDG2) and economic development [1]. Despite such a positive economic contribution, the agricultural sector, is, however, associated with negative environmental impacts, such as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, loss of natural habitats and diversity due to intensive agriculture and monoculture, a decline in air and water quality and deforestation. This poses a threat to the achievement of the SDG13, SDG14 and SDG15 targets of ensuring environmental sustainability. As consumers become more aware of the various production systems and how their consumer choices can have an impact on the environment [2], the demand for products that are sustainably produced will continue to increase. Farmers could integrate greater innovation in the production of food products to ensure that food is produced in an environmentally sustainable manner. Currently, Ireland produces approximately 1.1 million tonnes of food waste each year, which results in a carbon footprint of 3.6 Mt CO₂eq [3]. As such, increasing production to feed the world, is not, in and of itself, sustainable. It should be noted that the SDGs towards sustainability, previously listed, are all interlinked and not always antagonistic. For instance, with responsible production and consumption (SDG12), food losses can be minimized, natural resources less depleted and greater food security can be achieved [4].

Unlike other European countries where transport and energy industries are the major GHG emitters, in Ireland, agriculture accounted for about 37.5% of the nation’s total GHG emissions in 2021 [5], approximately double the emissions from the energy industry. The fact that agriculture continues to contribute the largest sectoral percentage of GHG emissions to the national inventory is a major cause for concern for such an important industry. Ireland has regularly fallen short of its climate change emission targets and currently faces a very challenging target of reducing overall emissions by 51% by 2030 and achieving net zero emissions by 2050 [6,7]. The largest share of GHG emissions in Irish agriculture relates to ruminant production and is predominantly a result of rumen methane and nitrous oxide from soils. The 2021 Irish Farm Sustainability Report [8] indicated that the amount of GHG emissions from an average Irish farm rose in 2020, largely due to an increase in herd size, in addition to a 3.3% and 6.2% increase in fertiliser use and liming, respectively [5].

With over 80% of the agricultural land in Ireland being grassland [9], the grass-based nature of livestock production in the country offers positive environmental opportunities in terms of manure recycling, the integration of livestock and crops for feed, low feed–food competition, biodiversity, soil quality and organic carbon content [10]. Grass, a relatively cheap but abundant feed source, also gives Irish dairy farmers a competitive edge in terms of lower costs and higher profits [11]. Results from the National Farm Survey (NFS) [12] show that dairy remains the most economically and socially sustainable farming system in Ireland; however, the continuous expansion of the bovine population has resulted in higher agricultural GHG at the national level due to higher methane emissions. Ireland aims to achieve a climate-neutral food system by 2050 [13]. Climate-neutral agriculture is defined as net zero emissions of agricultural GHG emissions, implying that the total GHGs (expressed in the carbon dioxide equivalent) released into the atmosphere by sources are equal to or less than the carbon absorbed by carbon sinks [14,15]. In grass-fed systems like Ireland, such as Australia [16,17,18] and New Zealand [19], much of the research towards climate-neutral agriculture has put a major emphasis on carbon sequestration modelling or strategies that require major land use changes and capital investment. To reduce emissions in agriculture, robust but practical measures are required to be implemented at the farm level. In previous research in Ireland, strategies such as clover, multispecies swards, slurry management and the use of protected urea have shown positive environmental impacts [20,21,22]. However, such research and analyses of the impact of the mitigation strategies have largely been conducted in isolation. In contrast, the Farm Zero C (FZC) initiative, which is the basis for the current paper, combines at least 15 strategies at once. FZC uses a holistic and pragmatic approach to transform a conventional farm into a more sustainable farm, with the overall aim of achieving a climate-neutral dairy farm. To achieve this, FZC undertakes an interdisciplinary program of work to reduce emissions, targeting several areas:

Soil and grassland management: measuring and increasing soil carbon organic stocks through soil and grassland management practices such as incorporating clover and growing multispecies swards;
Animal diet and breeding: trialling different types of diets and anti-methane additives that can alter animal digestion, reducing the amount of methane emitted by cows;
Renewable energy: producing and using renewable energy on the farm where possible to reduce the farm’s reliance on carbon-emitting fossil fuels.

The research completed to date has demonstrated that the combined strategies can significantly reduce the emissions at Farm Zero C as the life cycle assessment (LCA) modelling of GHG emissions has shown a decrease in emissions from 0.86 kg CO₂-eq/kg FPCM in 2018 to 0.66 kg CO₂-eq/kg FPCM in 2022. Previous studies have shown that adoption decisions for climate change mitigation practices among farmers are not based solely on the environmental impact of the strategies [23]. Farmers are likely to adopt innovations which they perceive to have economic returns [24]; for instance, those arising from increased efficiencies, economies of scale and financial incentives [23]. Various economic-oriented studies have been published focusing on the costs of climate change mitigation in Ireland; however, most of these either used input-output models or policy analysis to provide a broad perspective on the economic impacts of climate change mitigation at the national or regional level [25,26]. For instance, The Irish Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC) study provides a detailed cost analysis of the climate mitigation strategies across all farming systems with the absolute emission reduction pathways at the national level [26]. This current paper, on the other hand, builds on data arising from Farm Zero C combined with available information on climate change mitigation costs to provide a case study on how a combination of strategies can be applied for economic and environmental sustainability at the farm level. A business case, based on the implementation of a selection of the Farm Zero C climate-neutral strategies, is modelled under specified assumptions to determine the economic and environmental impact of a set of mitigation measures applied at different levels. The objective of this paper is to provide evidence that climate neutrality at the farm level produces opportunities for cost reduction and revenue growth, thus contributing positively to SDG13’s targets of combating climate change.

5. Conclusions

To meet the GHG targets at the national and EU level without jeopardizing the economic viability of the sector, Irish agriculture needs to adopt practical climate mitigation strategies. Using partial budget analysis and LCA assessment to measure the change in farm profit and GHG emissions under different scenarios, the business case for an average Irish dairy farm was formed based on the FZC holistic approach. The FZC approach reiterates the importance of adopting win–win approaches also highlighted in the Teagasc MACC curve, such as the inclusion of clover, protected urea, slurry management and reducing feed concentrates immediately, as they result in lower operational costs. Evidence from S1 shows that by implementing these win–win solutions even at a small scale, a 16% reduction in GHG emissions can be achieved. Incremental costs are realised especially from methane additives, slurry amendments and the use of native feeds. Biogenic methane is the major GHG in grass-based systems; therefore, the use of methane additives for emission reduction should be considered a priority. As highlighted by the business case, anti-methane additives are costly. Subsidies or other financial policy incentives should be considered to foster the uptake of additives, especially during the period when the animals are housed as the additives are most effective.

While significant sustainability improvements can be achieved by implementing the current farm-level mitigation strategies at a higher scale (S2), these steps alone may not be sufficient to achieve climate neutrality, as shown by the reduction to 0.614 kg CO₂-eq/kg FPCM in S2. This means that there is a need for more research into additional climate mitigation measures in order to reach net zero emissions on the farm. Targeting net zero ensures that the environmental sustainability goals are achieved without compromising food security. More research should be invested towards the MRV of soil carbon sequestration potential of grasslands and hedgerows so that the contribution of soil organic carbon could be incorporated in future business cases. Other ways to further reduce the emissions include anaerobic biodigesters for renewable energy, and the implementation of biorefineries to improve the efficiency of grassland use. Consumers will also be crucial in driving the demand for climate-neutral agriculture; therefore, consumer-side policies should be aimed at increasing awareness of the climate change challenge. In addition, multi-actor partnerships would be crucial in the dissemination of information on climate change mitigation across the agricultural sector. Stakeholders like producer associations, dairy companies, cooperatives and advisory organisations should continue to advise farmers on low-carbon farming. The holistic approach to sustainable agricultural production can be instrumental in achieving other SDGs including food security, responsible production and consumption, and life in water and on the ground.

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