Lowering the Carbon Footprint of Pasture-based Milk Production
Dairy farms account for approximately 20% of agricultural land use & approximately 15% of national greenhouse gas emissions. James Humphreys, Daniel Barrett, Marion Sorley & Owen Cashman of Teagasc, Moorepark summarise their research on Lowering the Carbon Footprint of Pasture-based Milk Production
Summary
Dairy farms account for approximately 20% of agricultural land use and approximately 15% of national greenhouse gas emissions.
The objective was to investigate the potential to lower the carbon footprint of Irish pasture-based dairy production while maintaining productivity and profitability by implementing best practices which include:
- Inclusion of clover to supply biologically fixed N instead of fertilizer N;
- Low emission slurry spreading (LESS);
- NBPT-protected urea as the sole source of fertilizer N;
- High EBI dairy livestock.
Relative to the high-input Control the two clover-based systems lowered GHG emissions per ha by 18% for Clover+NBPT and 23% for Clover-Zero.
Relative to the national average carbon footprint for intensive dairy farms (1.18 kg CO2e q/L) the Clover-Zero system had 40% lower emissions.
The volume of milk sold was around 2.5% lower from the Clover systems compared with the Control.
The Clover-based systems improved profitability compared with the Control.
Similar results are being achieved on the ‘Clover Focus Group’ commercial dairy farms.
Adoption of clover instead of fertilizer N, protected urea, where fertilizer N is applied, and low emissions slurry spreading along with higher EBI can substantially lower the carbon footprint of pasture-based milk production while improving profitability.
Other resources & online information
Email: james.humphreys@teagasc.ie
Download the Johnstown Castle Open Day Booklet at Farming for a Better Future - Technologies for Today & Tomorrow (PDF)
Find out more about Clover from Teagasc