net zero

Sharply escalating costs for fertiliser and fuel, coupled with extremes of weather, mean there has never been a better time to look at your farm’s carbon footprint.

Easy-to-use IT means it is now straightforward to see the impact changes in practices might have on your farm.

Farmers across the UK are being urged to consider the implications of allocating land for tree planting, after a US report showed carbon offsetting has a number of potential risks.

Most native broadleaf trees respond to cutting by sending up dozens of new shoots the following year – a natural process which seems to have been overlooked by Government Ministers, policy-makers and non-governmental organisations with their futures invested in planting trees, says land economist Richard Edwards.

Planting more trees and woodlands is a key part of the Government’s plan to level up the rural economy and deliver for nature, people and jobs, according to Defra.

Scottish correspondent Ewan Pate explains why, despite endless consultation with farmers, many fear future policy in Holyrood will be centred upon cutting livestock numbers.

The chemical element carbon has some notable properties. It exists in pure form but also combines with other elements to form more compounds than all other elements combined.

Now is the time for farmers and agronomists to act to address carbon footprint on farms, according to Farmacy agronomist and service leader Matt Ward.

Foxburrow Farm, a mixed arable and livestock farm in Norfolk, has reduced its carbon footprint as a result of changes to its cultivation strategy, the consequent reduction in time spent on the land, Controlled Traffic Management and decreased herbicide and insecticide use.

New Holland is in the final stages of bringing a methane-powered version of its T6-180 tractor to market which will deliver impressive reductions in particulates, nitrous oxide and CO2, reduced running costs and a resulting reduction in carbon footprint.