Tackling emissions on dairy farms

In the face of climate change, the Dairy Edge wanted to find out just what are the environmental implications of dairy farming practices.  We spoke to William Burchill about how to tackle this issue on the farm whilst also achieving higher profitability. By way of context, William explained what was included in the Paris agreement and what it means for the farming community - Ireland has committed to reducing overall Greenhouse Gas emissions by 30% by the year 2030 relative to base year of 2005. William talked through the main sources of emissions in the country and several strategies to reduce emission levels on your farm.  Interestingly, improved management practices such as better soil fertility, improved timing of fertiliser application, extended grazing and superior dairy cow genetics will lead to improved environmental sustainability as well as higher profitability. For more information: https://www.teagasc.ie/publications/2017/reducing-greenhouse-gas-emissions-from-agriculture.php