Adam Twine

Sustainable farming - managing your GHG emissions

Transcript

1. Adam Twine, Director, Farm Carbon Cutting Toolkit
2. Sustainable Farming – Managing your Greenhouse Gas Emissions Adam Twine, Director, FCCT
3. Introduction • Mixed arable and dairy farm, 1,200 acres Oxfordshire/Wiltshire border • Director of the Farm Carbon Cutting Toolkit, a not for profit, farmer to famer initiative to share best practise to reduce GHG emissions • Founding director Westmill Wind Farm and Westmill Solar Co-operatives (6.5MW + 5 MW)
4. Why worry about GHG emissions? • Save money? • Put farm business ahead of curve? • Investing for the future?
5. Sustainable Farming – Managing your Greenhouse Gas Emissions Adam Twine, Director, FCCT
6. Introduction • Mixed arable and dairy farm, 1,200 acres Oxfordshire/Wiltshire border • Director of the Farm Carbon Cutting Toolkit, a not for profit, farmer to famer initiative to share best practise to reduce GHG emissions • Founding director Westmill Wind Farm and Westmill Solar Co-operatives (6.5MW + 5 MW)
7. Why worry about GHG emissions? • Save money? • Put farm business ahead of curve? • Investing for the future?
8. Investing for the future?
10. UK Agricultural Emissions • Agriculture currently responsible for about 8% of UK GHG emissions; –But is responsible for 76% of all UK Nitrous oxide (N2 O) emissions –and 38% of UK Methane (CH4) emissions • UK target for 80% emissions reduction by 2050
11. UK GHG emissions
12. Can you reduce your farm GHG emissions? • Inherently tricky as farming is a biological activity – lots of variables, largely microbiological and biochemical processes • Need to understand where GHGs are emitted in agricultural processes and where are the opportunities for constructive intervention • Defra’s current £14m project for more accurate figures for agricultural emissions in UK
13. The main GHGs • Carbon dioxide (CO2 ) • Nitrous oxide (N2 O) – approx 300x effect of CO2 • Methane (CH4 ) – approx 25x effect of CO2
14. How to reduce your farm GHG emissions • Look at KPI’s and improving production intensity • Understand the biological processes that generate emissions • Understand the relative scale of emissions through the production process • Focus on areas that will have greatest impact
15. Typical emissions from arable cropping Arable Emissions Nitrogen fertilizer (1/2 from manufacture, ½ from losses post application) - N2O Field operations, soil organic matter loss, fuel use - CO2 P&K & Liming – CO2
16. Reducing N2 O emissions from cropping • Over 50% of all arable emissions from use of N fertilizers for crop production • Half through manufacture, half from field application • 10- 30 % of all N fertilizer applications wasted • Only 3-5% lost as N2O emissions • Target sourcing and application
17. Reduce field N2 O emissions • Match to crop needs –ADAS Tried and Tested/ NFU Nutrient management tools • Avoid applications to waterlogged soils, immediately after or prior to rain • Timing application to crop’s growth • Precision farming to target applications across field
18. Reducing loss of soil organic matter • SOM lost as CO2 through respiration of micro organisms • Frequency and intensity of tillage open up SOM aggregates to oxidation • England and Wales 25 year soil survey - average loss of SOM in farmland 0.6%/year • Soil carbon pools, stable, steady, active – role of humus – 30-90T carbon/ha in top 30cm • Minimum tillage, CTF systems
19. Dairy Emissions Dairy Emissions Enteric fermentation – CH4 Manure storage and spreading - N2O+CH4 Fertilizer use - N2O (5 – 30% range) Imported feed Fuel and power CO2
20. Reducing dairy GHG emissions • Efficiency of production process, (feed, health, replacement rate etc) will reduce GHG/litre milk • Diet modulation • Legumes to replace N fertilizers • Manure management and application 50% less N2O emissions from spring application • N fertilizer application, timing and rates
21. Beef & Sheep Emissions Beef & Sheep Enteric fermentation (CH4) Fertilizer use (N2O) Power and fuel (CO2)
22. Pigs & Poultry Emissions Pigs & Poultry Emissions Feeds brought onto farm (50 - 70%) Manure storage and application (30 – 40% for Poultry) Power and fuel (10 - 25%)
23. Sequestration • Farming only industry able to remove carbon from atmosphere at scale • Need for more robust data on sequestration rates • Soil for long term sequestration of carbon • Biomass for short term CO2 removal • Australian government approved on farm sequestration payments earlier this month
24. Farm Carbon Cutting Toolkit • Farm carbon calculator look at figures for own farm • Toolkit produce action plan for own farm • Community share questions, best practise, ideas
25. Measure Your Emissions- The FCCT Farm Carbon Calculator
26. The FCCT Farm Carbon Calculator
27. The FCCT Farm Carbon Calculator
28. Carbon Calculator- Easy to Read Results
29. Take Action - The FCCT Toolkit
30. The FCCT Toolkit
31. Contact Email: info@farmcarbontoolkit.org.uk Website: www.farmcarbontoolkit.org.uk Twitter: @FarmC02Toolkit
32. Investing for the future?
34. UK Agricultural Emissions • Agriculture currently responsible for about 8% of UK GHG emissions; –But is responsible for 76% of all UK Nitrous oxide (N2 O) emissions –and 38% of UK Methane (CH4) emissions • UK target for 80% emissions reduction by 2050
35. UK GHG emissions
36. Can you reduce your farm GHG emissions? • Inherently tricky as farming is a biological activity – lots of variables, largely microbiological and biochemical processes • Need to understand where GHGs are emitted in agricultural processes and where are the opportunities for constructive intervention • Defra’s current £14m project for more accurate figures for agricultural emissions in UK
37. The main GHGs • Carbon dioxide (CO2 ) • Nitrous oxide (N2 O) – approx 300x effect of CO2 • Methane (CH4 ) – approx 25x effect of CO2
38. How to reduce your farm GHG emissions • Look at KPI’s and improving production intensity • Understand the biological processes that generate emissions • Understand the relative scale of emissions through the production process • Focus on areas that will have greatest impact
39. Typical emissions from arable cropping Arable Emissions Nitrogen fertilizer (1/2 from manufacture, ½ from losses post application) - N2O Field operations, soil organic matter loss, fuel use - CO2 P&K & Liming – CO2
40. Reducing N2 O emissions from cropping • Over 50% of all arable emissions from use of N fertilizers for crop production • Half through manufacture, half from field application • 10- 30 % of all N fertilizer applications wasted • Only 3-5% lost as N2O emissions • Target sourcing and application
41. Reduce field N2 O emissions • Match to crop needs –ADAS Tried and Tested/ NFU Nutrient management tools • Avoid applications to waterlogged soils, immediately after or prior to rain • Timing application to crop’s growth • Precision farming to target applications across field
42. Reducing loss of soil organic matter • SOM lost as CO2 through respiration of micro organisms • Frequency and intensity of tillage open up SOM aggregates to oxidation • England and Wales 25 year soil survey - average loss of SOM in farmland 0.6%/year • Soil carbon pools, stable, steady, active – role of humus – 30-90T carbon/ha in top 30cm • Minimum tillage, CTF systems
43. Dairy Emissions Dairy Emissions Enteric fermentation – CH4 Manure storage and spreading - N2O+CH4 Fertilizer use - N2O (5 – 30% range) Imported feed Fuel and power CO2
44. Reducing dairy GHG emissions • Efficiency of production process, (feed, health, replacement rate etc) will reduce GHG/litre milk • Diet modulation • Legumes to replace N fertilizers • Manure management and application 50% less N2O emissions from spring application • N fertilizer application, timing and rates
45. Beef & Sheep Emissions Beef & Sheep Enteric fermentation (CH4) Fertilizer use (N2O) Power and fuel (CO2)
46. Pigs & Poultry Emissions Pigs & Poultry Emissions Feeds brought onto farm (50 - 70%) Manure storage and application (30 – 40% for Poultry) Power and fuel (10 - 25%)
47. Sequestration • Farming only industry able to remove carbon from atmosphere at scale • Need for more robust data on sequestration rates • Soil for long term sequestration of carbon • Biomass for short term CO2 removal • Australian government approved on farm sequestration payments earlier this month
48. Farm Carbon Cutting Toolkit • Farm carbon calculator look at figures for own farm • Toolkit produce action plan for own farm • Community share questions, best practise, ideas
49. Measure Your Emissions- The FCCT Farm Carbon Calculator
50. The FCCT Farm Carbon Calculator
51. The FCCT Farm Carbon Calculator
52. Carbon Calculator- Easy to Read Results
53. Take Action - The FCCT Toolkit
54. The FCCT Toolkit
55. Contact Email: info@farmcarbontoolkit.org.uk Website: www.farmcarbontoolkit.org.uk Twitter: @FarmC02Toolkit