Research and Development

Brian Lindsay

Behind the hype: GHG emissions from dairy farming explained

Karen WonnacottDairyCo R&D Manager

29 July 2010

Outline• Background• Terminology• Targets• Why reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) • Why reduce greenhouse gas (GHG)

emissions?• Carbon footprinting• Benefits for dairy farmers• What is DairyCo doing?

Greenhouse gases (GHGs)

• Nitrous oxide (N20)– 300X more potent

• Methane (CH4)– 20X more potent than CO2– 20X more potent than CO2

• Carbon dioxide (CO2) – <1% in agriculture

• Ammonia (NH3)– ‘indirect’ GHG

The terminology• Carbon footprint

– "the total set of GHG emissions caused directly and indirectly by an individual, organisation, event or product" (UK Carbon Trust 2008)

• Mitigation• Adaptation• Abatement• Carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e)• Global Warming Potential (GWP)• GHG glossary available from the DairyCo website

www.dairyco.org.uk

Targets in context• Kyoto Protocol 2012

– 12.5% reduction

• UK Low Carbon Transition Plan 2008– 11% reduction for agriculture in England– 11% reduction for agriculture in England– 3 Million tonnes* CO2equivalents (CO2e)

• National inventory measurement– Currently crude– Does not detect actual practice on farm

* DairyCo establishing start and endpoint

GHG emissions & dairy farming

• Agriculture contributes 7% of total UK GHG emissions

• Dairy <2%† of total UK GHG emissions– Perception– Perception– Actual

• CH4 and N2O emissions have fallen by 17% and 23% respectively since 1990

• More reductions are possible†

DairyCo funded work carried out by North Wyke Research, part of Rothamsted Research

Why reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from dairy farms?• Reduce energy consumption per unit of food

produced – definite link with profit• More cost effective use of nutrients

– Feeding the animal– Making the most of grass– Making the most of grass– Better use of manure and slurry

• If industry demonstrates voluntary GHG reductions, may be less policy/legislative intervention

• Demonstrating positive improvements to the general public

What is a carbon footprint?

• Cradle to grave, account for all inputs and outputs, traced back to primary source, e.g.

• Milk production– Oil→fertiliser→chemicals→machinery→crops/– Oil→fertiliser→chemicals→machinery→crops/

fodder→housing→feeds →cattle→milk cooling

• Milk processing– Transport→processing→separation→pasteurisation→packing→retailer→consumer

Components of a litre of milk

Nitrous oxide45%25%

Microbial breakdown of nitrate in soil both organic and inorganic and manure

Enteric emissions from the rumen and manure

Nitrous oxide

Carbon dioxide

Methane30%

45%

Direct inputs:Diesel, electricity, chemicals, fertiliser etc.

Anecdotal evidence on farm

800

1000

1200

1400

Almost 50%

higher

0

200

400

600

Bottom 25% Average Top 25%

Total gCO2e/litre

Who should calculate your carbon footprint?• A lot of tools on the market• Increasing interest• Publically Available Specification 2050

(PAS 2050) explains how you carbon (PAS 2050) explains how you carbon footprint for all products & services

• Carbon Trust accredited• Milk buyer driven• Depends on your objective

What do I get out of it?

• A figure with which you can benchmark your farm in future years and benchmark between group members

• Information on where you could reduce your • Information on where you could reduce your carbon footprint

• An understanding of how efficient your farm is• Return of capital investments over time and

associated reduction in carbon footprint (hopefully!)

What can you do?• Increase milk yields (regardless of system)• Reduce replacement rate• Feed by-products• Better manage manures & reduce bagged • Better manage manures & reduce bagged

fertiliser where possible• Reduce dietary protein• Invest in heat recovery, water re-use (plate

cooler & rain water), extended grazing• Use off peak electricity

What is DairyCo doing?

• R&D projects - new and existing– Sampling guidelines project with Carbon Trust and

DairyUK - aiming to standardise carbon footprinting of milk pools/fields

– Establishment of an annual average national carbon footprint figure which will provide industry with a benchmark to measure future progress

– Opportunities for new forage species

• Environment issue statements/ GHG factsheets• Good communications with industry & Defra• Milk Roadmap

Some of the challenges!• Still a lot of unknowns• Some GHG emissions are inevitable!• Climate events/ unexpected disease

outbreak(s)outbreak(s)• Limited farmer buy-in• Government/policy• Media• Labelling

More reductions are possible!• Dairy sector recognises the need to reduce

GHG emissions• DairyCo leading discussions & information

provision for farmers, industry, Government• Many environmental objectives have

synergies with efficiency and cost savings• DairyCo need to get these win-win messages

over to more dairy farmers!

Thank you for your attention!