Striking green balance

Cattle farming in Scotland accounts for 26% of total agricultural output – so what strategies could be adopted to balance the nation’s red meat production and deliver Scotland’s net zero targets?

Using the carbon audit tool Agrecalc, a study by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) analysed a range of technical improvements and carbon mitigation measures on “average” sucker beef farms.

The results indicated there is the potential to cut carbon emissions by up to 37.6% from the defined baseline level.

The beef farm model, built by SAC Consulting, generated data for various scenarios including physical inputs (feed, crops, grass, fertiliser, lime, fuel, breeding stock); performance data for crops and livestock (yields of cereals and straw, calving percentage, rearing percentage, age at first calving, sale weights, age at sale); and output (livestock sales).

Carbon emission estimates were generated via Agrecalc on a whole farm, enterprise and per unit of output basis.

Eleven measures were identified to reduce emissions.

They include: Reduce age at first calving to two years (-6.9% emission). Calving at two years compared to three years significantly reduces the resources required to feed and manage a cow to first calving, reduces unproductive livestock on farm and increases the number of calves a cow has in her lifetime.

There is a caveat: while many breeds and systems are well suited to calving at two years, it is not an option for every business.

Reduce age at slaughter to 18 months (-12.5%). Reducing finishing periods reduces the number of days cattle need to be maintained.

Equally, while finishing cattle quicker reduces total emissions, there are environmental and health benefits from finishing cattle off high quality pastures where little, if any, concentrates are needed.

Improved grassland management (-7.9%). When managed well, grassland has the potential to significantly reduce input costs and bought-in feed costs; with some farms able to finish cattle purely off pasture and conserved forages.

Grassland management is not simply a case of balancing supply and demand but, by understanding and monitoring phases of grass growth, allows farmers to graze/cut grass at optimum development stages, enabling greater productivity and output.

To find out more about assessing mitigation measures visit www. agrecalc.com