The challenging confusion around carbon

Climate change and farming – it’s a hot topic. With belching cattle and evil fertilisers at the top of the press agenda, it seems farming is being fried up nicely as the sacrificial lamb, taking a large chunk of the blame for our climate woes. But really. Why?!? Why would we willingly aggravate a situation that leaves us suffering as much if not more than most. Farming , more than any other industry I can think of, is reliant on a healthy outdoor environment. Floods, droughts, rising temperatures – these are all disastrous for crops and livestock and therefore our livelihood, so why would we make it worse?

The answer, of course, is a complex one and not as black and white as the media would have us believe. We as an industry are not perfect and there are certainly improvements to be made, but we are not just fiddling as Rome burns. Measures such as feeds that reduce methane emissions are already being taken, but depressingly it seems that whatever carbon reducing activities we’re following, they are not being counted. Instead the popular message seems to be that the only way we can reduce carbon emissions is to reduce farming; ironically the ONE large scale activity that turns carbon emissions into a safe solid form through photosynthesis. 

Meanwhile, in the real world the farming community is counting the cost. Just recently, we got involved in a discussion with a group of mixed farmers from north of Inverness. Mixed farming is how many believe farming should be; incorporating grass rotations and animal dungs are all good for the health of arable soils. But this ‘balanced’ form of farming is under threat because of unpredictable rainfall patterns and the need to try a variety of cultivation techniques in order to manage the crop establishment. Yet another cost implication. So yes, we need to keep looking for carbon saving solutions, but at the same time the metrics and incentives need to change to reflect the real world. Farming is not just the problem, with the right incentives and support we have the ingenuity and ability to be a huge part of the solution and above all we need to get the message out there.