Increase Diversification
Diversification aims to develop alternative land uses and rural businesses that offer viable economic returns that have lower emissions than traditional ruminant-based agricultural systems. Opportunities include organic farming, which is a lower input and intensity system with the potential for increased product prices with potential across all sectors of agriculture. Alternative non-ruminant enterprises such as, horticulture which can generate high revenues from a relatively small land base, or tillage and forestry which have lower revenues per unit
Current Research Projects
Current Climate Centre research projects focusing on Increasing Diversification
area but the potential to utilise a larger land base. There are also a number of alternative markets that could be exploited by a range of existing farm enterprises such as bio-methane or industrial feedstock production.
Priority Research Questions
- What are the opportunities for Irish farming arising from the circular bioeconomy?
- How can bioenergy and energy diversification be incorporated at farm level?
- What is the role of horticulture in diversification of food systems and how can output values be increased?
- How can technologies such as manure processing, biosolids, biorefining, biomethane, alternative crops and integrated farm systems be used to increase circularity in agri-food systems?
- How can forest systems be adapted to improve adoption and be resilient to future climate change?
Anticipated Research Outcomes
- Increased organic farming systems.
- Growth in the annual rate of afforestation.
- Improved technologies for sustainable bio-methane production by anaerobic digestion of slurry and grass.
- Increased land devoted to tillage crops and alternative proteins and opportunities for horticulture identified and promoted.
- Development of valorisation pathways for food waste streams for food and feed production.
Go to the following sections of our website for further information on Organics , Horticulture , Forestry
Fiona Thorne
Diversification Pillar Lead
Research Snapshots
Anaerobic Digestion
Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a multi-step process whereby organic waste and residues are converted into biogas by a group of microorganisms in an anaerobic environment. Biogas refers to the gas prior to upgrading, which contains approximately 55% methane (CH4), while biomethane refers to the upgraded gas, containing approximately 97% CH4. There are many suitable feedstocks for biogas production from the agricultural sector, including crops such as maize specifically cultivated for biogas production, grass and grass silage, animal slurry and manures, as well as waste and by-products from agro-industries.
Research is underway at Teagasc Grange is investigating the environmental and economic sustainability of AD in Ireland. This includes identifying feedstocks with the lowest GHG emissions per unit of energy produced, exploring alternative combinations of feedstock to optimise biogas production and determining the breakeven price for biogas based on the annual costs and incomes for a biogas plant.
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Current projects relating to Diversification