Agriculture Climate Mitigation (3).pdf

THE ROLE OF AGRICULTURE IN CLIMATE MITIGATION Tori Charlton [email protected] Sustainable Development Goals Teach In Pledge LEARNING OUTCOMES 1 2 Illustrate the balance between feeding the human population and maintaining the environment Analyse mitigation methods for livestock p...

THE ROLE OF AGRICULTURE IN CLIMATE MITIGATION Tori Charlton [email protected] Sustainable Development Goals Teach In Pledge LEARNING OUTCOMES 1 2 Illustrate the balance between feeding the human population and maintaining the environment Analyse mitigation methods for livestock production: Management, genetics & nutrition 3 Examine the role of the producer in shaping their farming environment 4 Review the goals for reaching Net Zero in Agriculture 5 Appraise novel approaches for reducing emissions in agriculture, finding the balance. 2 Test Your Knowledge • Understanding of agriculture’s impact on the planet needs to be our starting point, the Planet of Plenty website gives lots of insight on sustainable agri-food production, here is the link to their quiz: https://www.alltech.com/planet-of-plenty/agri-food-insights There are 20 questions for you to complete. 3 The ‘Green Revolution’ Does anyone know what the Green revolution was? And when it began? • In the last 60 years crop production increased by 40%, animal production by 90% • While population only grew by 30% • Intensification and crop specialisation allowed us to do this on 10% less land Further Reading: Pingali (2012) 4 Cereals for Humans and Livestock 5 Human food options Description of Usual Eating Habits 6 2 21 11 3 • Disconnect between food and farming? Source: YouGov (2021) 75 Meat Eater Pescetarian Plant Based/Vegan Other Flexitarian Don't Know Vegetarian The Challenge with Animal Products Source: OECD (2021) Food Production vs Food Consumption Source: You Gov (2021); van Dijk et al. (2021) 8 Self Sufficiency • Maximise use of own resources • Imports may be cheaper • Imports may be better quality (improved performance) • How reliable is the supply? • Self Sufficiency ¹ Sustainability. Food Product % Self- sufficient Oats and Barley 100% Wheat 90% Sugar Beet 60% Potatoes 70% Beef 80% Dairy 91% Pork 66% Lamb 109% Eggs 92% Poultry 96% Food Waste • Value of food waste is £19 billion/ year • Equivalent of 25 millions tonnes of GHG emissions • Disconnect between farming, food and consumption 10 Over-reliance on Soy Why would we move towards soy as a predominant plant protein? 11 Sources of Plant Protein Type Specific Protein Examples Animal based protein Animal co-products Meat & bone meal, blood meal Milk Co-Products Skimmed milk, Whey Fish products Fish Meal Oilseeds Soya, Rape Seed (Canola), Sunflower, Palm kernel’s, Cotton seed, Linseed, Sesame, Coconut, Groundnut Plant based protein Legumes Peas, Beans, Chickpeas, Lupines Source: Alternative sources of protein for poultry nutrition Broiler Requirements • Methionine first limiting amino acid in poultry nutrition • Amino acid requirements ratioed to lysine have become a popular means of expressing requirements (as wheat is deficient in Lysine and makes up major component of ration) Source: Baker (2009) 13 Farming and the Environment Only two industries in the UK have the potential to store carbon, which are these? More info here: Oxford Principles for Carbon Offsetting (2020) 14 Consumer concerns Ten most common concerns of consumers Oct 21 to Jan 22 Source: DEFRA (2023) 15 There is no one blueprint There is No One Blueprint 16 Nutrition Managemen t Genetics MITIGATION METHODS 17 1.Nutrition Efficiency of conversion Type of Feed Use of byproducts Use of additives Alternative Protein sources 18 Influences on methane- silage type Feeding grass silage from grass harvested at an early compared with late growth stages shown to: • Improve apparent total-tract digestibility • Increase milk yield of dairy cattle • An early growth stage further reduced enteric CH4 yield (−17% CH4 per unit of DMI and −25% CH4 per unit of DOMI) Source: Warner et al. 2017 19 Influences on methane- concentrates Feeding high levels of concentrates has been identified as an effective enteric CH4 mitigation strategy for cattle. When comes to feeding grazing cattle there are contradictory answers. Source: Jiao et al. (2014) 20 Unsaturated Fatty Acids and Methane Effect of fat on the diet: 1. Inhibition of activity/viability or cellolytic bacteria in rumen 2. Binder of hydrogen Source: Alvarez-Hess et al. 21 Feed Additives & Methane Source: Li Et al. 2018 22 2. Genetics Methane measurements, definition, strengths and weaknesses in genetic selection. Source: de Haas et al. (2017) Trait Definition Strength Weakness Methane Production Methane production per day (g/d or L/d) Clean trait to be improved Highly correlated with feed intake and production level Methane Intensity Methane production related Phenotype of interest for to output (e.g. per kg of user milk or liveweight) This is a ratio trait, selection can be difficult to incorporate Methane Yield Methane production related Phenotype of interest for to input (kg of DMI) user This is a ratio trait, selection can be difficult to incorporate Residual Methane Production Observed methane production minus predicted methane production Can be difficult to explain to users Good statistical properties, corrected for traits that influence methane production 23 Selection for Performance Diluting Effect Increased productivity = decreased methane production per unit of milk produced Source: Reynolds et al. (2011) 24 Individual Animal Effects Individual factors affecting CH4 on dairy cattle: • • • • • Bodyweight Milk Yield Parity Week of lactation ME requirements Source: Garnsworthy et al. 2012 25 Welfare and Mitigation Source: Llonch et al. (2017) 26 Source: Llonch et al. (2017) 27 THE ROLE OF THE PRODUCER 28 The Producer as the Driver of Change • Producer influence plays a key role • Develop in sustainable farming incentives through ELM’s • Networking • Support • Mental health awareness How important is it to consider GHGs when taking decisions about crops, land and livestock? Source: Agri-Climate Report (2022) • Guidance here on: Agricultural Transition Plan 29 Action and farm profitability 30 Current Actions Taken by Producers 31 Producer Motivations 32 Barriers to action 33 Producer Awareness & Willingness-Soils • Survey distributed to producers • Education level of producers linked to understanding of soil conservation • Familiarity of soil conservation leads to greater understanding of role of soils outside of crop production • Work by Duruiheoma et al. (2015) 34 35 There isn’t one answer…… 36 SOME STRATEGIES 37 Net Zero Strategies 38 Sustainable Agriculture Matrix Source: Zhang et al. (2021) 39 NOVEL APPROACHES FOR REDUCING EMISSIONS 40 Slido asking students to detail any practices they feel will support emissions reduction 41 Regenerative Agriculture Definition’s: • “Based on the principle of working with nature” ( Kamenetzky and Maybury 1989) • “The four principal tools used by regenerative agriculture: soil fertility practices, integrated pest management, advances in plant breeding, and integrated crop-animal systems” (Francis and Harwood 1985) • “‘regenerative' … practices such as cover cropping, crop rotation, reduced tillage and biological pest control, in addition to minimizing the use of chemical inputs to manage pests and maintain soil fertility.” (Schoolman 2019) • Based on processes e.g. cover crops, livestock integration or reduced tillage, outcomes e.g. soil health improved, sequestered carbon OR combinations of both (Newton et al. 2020) Debated and contested definitions 42 Changes to Regen Ag Practices • Values and emotions play a role in transitioning to different practices • Wider than policy, technology and education • Balance between zones of friction and traction Source: Gosnell et al. (2019) 43 Feeding Insect Protein In reality: https://youtu.be/1JJd3ZTZEuc Source: Elahi et al. (2022) 44 Intercropping Process involves cultivating two or more crops in the same field simultaneously Source: Vlachostergios et al. (2017) 45 Biodiversity 46 Use of Renewables Sources: - Solar - Biomass - Wind - Heat Pump - Biofuels - Anaerobic digester 47 Use of Technology • Precision farming • Use of drones • Sensors to measure methane and ammonia emissions • GPS 48 Further Reading 1. Duffy, R., Fearne, A., Healing, V. (2005) Reconnection in the UK food chain Bridging the communication gap between food producers and consumers. British Food Journal 107(1): pp. 17-33 2. Booth, R. (2023) Pathways, targets and temporalities: Analysing English agriculture's net zero futures. Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space 6(1): 617-637 https://doi.org/10.1177/25148486211064962 3. Newton, P., Civita, N., Frankel-Goldwater, L., Bartel, K., Johns, C. (2020) What Is Regenerative Agriculture? A Review of Scholar and Practitioner Definitions Based on Processes and Outcomes. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 4: https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2020.577723 4. Page, C., Witt, B. (2022) A Leap of Faith: Regenerative Agriculture as a Contested Worldview Rather Than as a Practice Change Issue. Sustainability 14, 14803. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142214803 49 SUMMARY Analyse your connectedness to your food sources and your decision making behind food decisions-human-farming-food connection Awareness of how emissions can be mitigated through agriculture in current, diverse and evolving methods Review these strategies and further reading for more information. 50