Livestock project aims to combat climate change

In a bid to help the Scottish agricultural industry contribute to the Scottish Government’s target of net zero by 2045, farmers co-operative, Farm Stock (Scotland) Ltd is leading a Government funded project which aims to demonstrate how attention to soil health benefits both agricultural production and the wider environment and can contribute to combating climate change.

The project entitled Soil Health – A Route Towards Net Zero for the Scottish Livestock Industry wiil provide the Scottish Government with a snapshot of soil health across a representative sample of Scottish livestock farms and will identify both the potential benefits and costs of soil health improvement. It will also investigate how soil health interacts with overall livestock production levels, nitrogen use efficiency and the wider environment. It is expected that the lessons learnt will help inform how the industry as a whole can use best practice in the drive to reduce emissions.

Participating in regional groups, the 20 livestock farmers taking part will use the latest highly detailed and sophisticated soil sampling methods provided by precision farming specialists SoilEssentials and analysis techniques to assess soil health, including soil carbon levels. A leading soil scientist will demonstrate how to use the soil sampling results along with detailed physical inspection in the field to assess soil health. The on-farm discussion of how best to manage soils will be supplemented with online webinars and one-to-one support to help each farmer draw up a practical soil plan. Findings from the project will be collated and reported back to the Scottish Government.

Farm Stock Director, Andrew Tullie who farms at Whitchesters near Hawick explained ‘Farmers are often caught between being both the cause and the solution to climate change and this project will go some way to starting to understand the role soils can have in storing carbon, and more importantly, what farmers can do to improve carbon storage on their farms, helping to offset emissions in the fight against climate change.’

John Prentice, a participating farmer from Duns added, “This project is providing Scottish livestock farmers with an opportunity to grasp the science of carbon in soil.The biggest use of land in the UK is grassland for cattle and sheep production but the public debate over methane and red meat barely mentions the potential grassland has for carbon sequestration. Our grassland needs the correct management to gather carbon and to be a more efficient resource both for the producer and the people we feed.’

Ian Watson, Chairman of Farm Stock (Scotland) Ltd concluded ‘Our members ar very conscious of the contribution that agriculture can make to the Scottish Government’s objective of achieving net zero by 2045. This project is aimed at helping Scotland’s livestock producers meet this demanding target by becoming more efficient, specifically through the better management of soil health and an improved understanding of the role of soils in carbon sequestration’

The project is funded by the Scottish Government’s Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund.

Press release courtesy of Farm Stock (Scotland) Ltd