Menu

Know How / Carbon

Carbon reduction is key to reducing the impact of climate change and meeting the UK's target to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. Farm businesses will need to implement low-carbon solutions to help reach these targets and qualify for new payment schemes. Find out what other farmers are doing and learn about carbon management.

AGRICULTURAL TRANSITION

Are wetland crops the future on lowland peat?

England’s lowland peat soils are some of the most valuable when it comes to food production, but they also contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Draining peatland soils has allowed them…

AGRICULTURAL TRANSITION

Transition Farm Walk visits carbon-negative arable unit

Farmers Weekly Transition Farmer Andy Bason provided an insight into his carbon-negative, Hampshire-based arable unit during a recent farm walk.  The Transition Farm Walk saw more than 80 visitors descend…

CARBON

How fenland farmers are cutting greenhouse gases from peat

High levels of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from the drained lowland peat soils in the Fens are threatening to change how they are managed and what they can produce. Finding…

CROP MANAGEMENT

How Wold Top Brewery barley grower lowered carbon footprint

The Yorkshire farming family behind the successful Wold Top Brewery and Yorkshire’s first single-malt whisky distillery is using the latest precision mapping technology in its drive towards a low-carbon, sustainable…

FARM POLICY

Farming needs £4.4bn a year, say green lobby groups

Tougher environmental targets and higher costs to achieve them mean a substantial increase in Treasury funding for farm support is needed, according to a new report from green lobby groups.…

SOILS

How new tech aims to improve soil carbon measurement

Measuring soil organic carbon accurately has always been difficult. But with the rise in interest in carbon trading in agriculture, as well as the other benefits from managing carbon stocks…

AGRICULTURAL TRANSITION

Why soil management is so vital to reducing emissions

The decarbonisation of food production will be one of the defining undertakings of our industry this century, as farmers play their part to reach the UK's target of net-zero emissions…

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Farming emissions: What they are and why they must be tackled

Farming is responsible for 11% of total UK greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and as much as 88% of UK ammonia emissions, according to Defra’s latest Agri-climate report. Emissions matter for…

SOILS

Carbon audit highlights priorities for net-zero success

A 10-year sustainability plan put in place just over a year ago at Squerryes Estate in Westerham, Kent, has provided a framework for the business as it navigates its way…

AGRICULTURAL TRANSITION

No scientific rigour in Defra’s ELM scheme, says Batters

Farm leader Minette Batters has criticised Defra’s Environmental Land Management scheme for farmers in England, arguing that it is not supported by science. The NFU president delivered her damning verdict…

NEWS

Insect listening devices installed on pig farms

Pig production and processing company Cranswick has installed hi-tech insect listening devices on its farms to help increase biodiversity.  The units developed by ag-tech company AgriSound have been installed on…

AGRICULTURAL TRANSITION

Net-zero farming ‘impossible’ without agri-tech investment

The development and application of agricultural technologies must become a priority for the UK government if the farming sector is to achieve net zero, new research warns. The government has…

AGRICULTURAL TRANSITION

Defra farming expert gives update on carbon farming plans

A Defra farming expert has given an update on how his government department is evaluating the potential for carbon trading in agriculture. Jonathan Baker, a senior civil servant working at…

AGRICULTURAL TRANSITION

ABP to work with suppliers to cut carbon emissions by 25%

Red meat processing giant ABP is setting its UK suppliers the challenge of reducing their greenhouse gas emissions from beef and lamb production by as much as 25% by 2030.…

DAIRY

How one Ayrshire dairy is cutting its carbon footprint

Improvements in milk quality and yield have helped cut the carbon footprint of a Scottish indoor dairy unit by 42% in a year. Farm output at Low Ballees, a new…

GRASSLAND MANAGEMENT

How Cornish farms are innovating in bid to reach net zero

Farm Net Zero is a National Lottery-funded project running across Cornwall, which aims to show the contribution agriculture can make to achieving net zero. As part of this, three demonstration…

SHEEP

How reducing methane emissions is win-win for flock performance

Results from thousands of methane measurements from sheep flocks across Ireland have confirmed that genetics play a part in enteric fermentation. This means farmers can select for low emitters, reducing…

CARBON

Inset v offset carbon credits: benefits and risks to farmers

When you start thinking about buyers of carbon credits or certificates, most people immediately think about big corporations outside of agriculture looking to balance their emissions through buying someone else’s…

ENVIRONMENTAL SCHEMES

NFU backs Yen Zero bid to cut carbon footprint

Seventeen farming organisations have signed up to support Adas’ Yield Enhancement Network (Yen) Zero project to help arable farmers reduce their carbon footprints. Launched as a pilot scheme in 2021,…

AGRICULTURAL TRANSITION

Trading carbon and natural capital – legal advice for farmers

When we talk about “trading” natural capital in this article, we are using a shorthand for selling products or services derived from natural capital assets. We are talking about more…