A report published by the consortium CIEL (Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock) has identified that greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced if wide scale and highly effective mitigations are adopted on farms.
The greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced from the main livestock types by 23 per cent and ammonia emissions by 15 per cent.
The report is believed to be the first of its kind to model and collate data at this scale. It covers a range of mitigating scenarios in real life case studies across dairy, beef, sheep, pig and poultry farms.
CIEL commissioned an independent consortium of expert scientists including from Queen’s University Belfast to deliver the report.
Speaking at the report launch, Dr Mark Young, Head of Innovation at CIEL, said: “The need for improvement in herd or flock production efficiency should be the focus for most farmers in the drive to reduce their carbon footprint, and this report highlights that need. Increasing productivity per animal while reducing input costs, and maintaining overall productivity at the same level, is something we can do right now.”
