12 Steps for Dairy farmers to Reduce Gaseous Emissions

The Signpost Programme led by Teagasc, is a multi-annual campaign to lead climate action by all Irish farmers. The latest output from this programme is a guide outlining 12 Steps for Dairy farmers to take to reduce Gaseous Emissions on their farms.
Download as a PDF here: 12 steps to reduce gaseous emissions on dairy farms (PDF)
Use protected urea
Apply protected urea instead of CAN/straight urea
Apply lime
Identify felds low in pH using soil analysis
Build or maintain soil fertility
Continue to use P & K fertilisers such as 18:6:12
Use 100% LESS
Apply slurry in spring / early summer using Low Emission Slurry Spreading Technology (LESS)
Reduce chemical N by 10kg/ha
Apply lime, incorporate clover and make best use of slurry / FYM
Better grassland management
Weekly farm walk, measure grass and extend grazing season
Improve animal health
Create a herd health plan
Improve dairy herd quality
Use high EBI bulls and increase herd EBI by >€10/year. Use sexed semen to accelerate genetic gain
Increase milk solids/cow
Milk record, cull poor cows and aim for 305 day lactation
Reduce age at first calving
Calf heifers at 22 to 26 months and aim for 20% replacement rate
Finish cattle earlier
Use Dairy Beef Index (DBI) to produce earlier fnishing cattle
Incorporate clover
Incorporating 5 kg/ha (2 kg/ac) will replace up to 100 kg/ha (80 units/ac) of chemical N/year
View the 12 Steps for Beef farmers to Reduce Gaseous Emissions or find out more about the Signpost Programme
You, A friend or colleague can subscribe to the Teagasc Signpost Programme e-Newsletter by clicking the subscribe button below
The Teagasc Signpost Programme e-Newsletter will issue monthly and you can read it here each month on on Teagasc Daily.
Signpost Programme Partners
The Signpost Programme is a collaborative partnership of farmers, industry and State Agencies, working together for climate action.