Farming for the Climate

Capital Challenge Centre, led by Professor of Rural Entrepreneurship Mark Reed, and Senior Challenge Research Fellow and Data Policy Lead Dr Hannah Rudman.

The projects will help lock up substantial amounts of carbon from the atmosphere to tackle climate change. With growing interest from companies seeking to offset their emissions, carbon markets are also set to provide farmers and other landowners with substantial new income streams.

The frst project will gather evidence for interventions to be integrated into a pilot UK Farm Soil Carbon Code, working with pilot farms in Gloucestershire in collaboration with the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group South-West (FWAG) and the Sustainable Soils Alliance.

It is estimated this could unlock up to £500m in annual revenues by 2030 for farmers and other landowners adopting regenerative practices that lock up carbon from the atmosphere in agricultural soils.

Investing in net-zero technology

£16.5 million to support energy transformation

A total of £16.5 million has been awarded to the Net Zero Technology Centre to accelerate a range of energy transition projects that will help deliver Scotland’s net-zero economy.

Seven projects will be developed through the centre’s Net Zero Technology Transition Programme (NZTTP) to transform the North Sea energy system, with a focus on emissions reduction.

The programme is expected to deliver £403 billion for the economy and 21,000 jobs by 2050.

Funding is being provided through the Scottish Government’s Energy Transition Fund and will be match-funded by the industry.

Net Zero and Energy Secretary Michael Matheson announced the investment during a visit to Aberdeen South Harbour, where he hosted a roundtable meeting with Energy Transition Fund partners alongside other key North-East energy stakeholders to discuss the sector’s transition to net-zero.

Mr Matheson said:

“The Scottish Government is wholly committed to ending our contribution to climate change by 2045, and doing so in a way that ensures a just transition to net-zero, making sure no-one is left behind.

“We want to secure jobs for the energy workforce and create new jobs in the north east - and across Scotland - by seizing the huge opportunities our energy transition and wider journey to net-zero present.

“The Energy Transition Fund is helping the energy sector to grow and diversify and accelerate the journey to net-zero, and underpin the north-east’s ambitions to become a world leader in this transition.

“This funding will help the NZTC, working with industry and academia, to help grow Scotland’s role as a global leader in net zero technology solutions, delivering security of energy supply, diversifying the sector, and creating the next generation of highly skilled, green jobs.”

The Net Zero Technology Centre’s CEO Colette Cohen OBE said:

“This is an important milestone for the Net Zero Technology Centre which will drive the development of key technologies for green growth in Scotland and the UK, create jobs, attract investment and help establish a world-class net zero supply chain.

The Climate Challenge; benefiting beef and business?

Robert Ramsay, Senior Agricultural Consultant, SAC Consulting

With COP 26 (United Nations Conference of the Parties) on the horizon, farmers can be sure that the environmental impact of beef production will be back under the microscope. We will hear bold claims, from both sides of the argument about methane, ruminants and the environment. While farmers should be aware of the outcomes of COP 26, it is important to also consider what you can achieve. Global issues, such as feed lot agriculture, water usage and deforestation will be well scrutinised and rightly so. However, these are international issues and very different the systems we operate in Scotland, we need to set ourselves apart and ensure all beef production isn’t tarred with the same brush. There is a huge amount of positive work happening in Scotland, making our current systems even more sustainable than they already are. There are many bodies that will be working hard to showcase Scottish beef production during this 2-week conference.

The word efficiency comes up a lot with regards to the environment. However, farmers should be mindful that most of the on-farm climate change mitigation options they have at their disposal will also have a positive impact on their pockets. While COP 26 is running, farmers will be preparing and heading into winter, the most expensive time of year for most. It is important both in terms of efficiency and profitability to lighten the load and avoid carrying any passengers through the winter. A simple pregnancy diagnosis of suckler cows will cost a few pounds, provide excellent management information which could help reduce your environmental impact and save you a lot of money. Any empty cows found in the autumn should be culled out the system, releasing their capital value and avoiding the burden of their wintering costs. This year, silage and straw stocks are limited in some parts of the country, so it is even more important to remove passengers from the system. While the environmental impact of methane emissions from cattle is argued by many, no one can argue that an empty cow is an efficient one.

For more ideas around practical mitigation measures and ways to reduce emissions from your farm, and to read about what other farmers have done, visit www.farmingforabetterclimate.org find us on Facebook and Twitter @SACFarm4Climate.

WORLD FARMING New Zealand

A day a way and a lifetime of memories

By Fiona Sloan

In the last issue we looked at New Zealand’s sub tropical North Island and the diverse agriculture of this wonderful country, which lies in the South Pacifc Ocean, 1700kms from its nearest neighbour, Australia. This month, we will look at the larger South Island, a magnet for Scottish settlers over the years.

New Zealand’s South Island is an island of contrasts, ranging from miles-long beaches to 3000m high ice-clad mountains; temperate forest areas with some of the highest rainfall in the world within an hour’s drive of arid areas; intensive agriculture to extensive ranching covering tens of thousands of hectares.

Known as “the Mainland”, it is also known by the Maori name - Te Waipounamu - the place, or waters of greenstone/pounamu. This is because the highlyprized translucent green jade, is only found in some rivers on the South Island’s West Coast. Maori used this hard stone for weapons and ornaments, including the tiki fgurines, often seen around the neck of New Zealanders, whether they are of Maori ancestry or not.

After the capital Christchurch, the second largest city in the South Island is Dunedin - Gaelic for Edinburgh. Along with the Southland region, the West Coast was predominantly settled by Scottish immigrants and Southlanders still retain vestiges of the Scottish accent– rolling their “r’s” and adding “wee” into many conversations. Oats for porridge grow well here too!

Although 30% bigger than the North Island, the South Island is more sparsely populated with around 1.2M of the national population of 5.1M. This is due, in part, to the large range of mountains known as the Southern Alps running the length of the Island. The Alps also cause a marked variation in climate between the east and west sides of the Island, with western regions very wet (up to 7 metres of rainfall a year in some places). Dryer eastern regions such as Marlborough, allow for high-quality wine production, with 27,000 ha of vines (75% of national production), predominantly of the sauvignon blanc variety.

Canterbury is also dry in summer but is blessed with abundant river and subterranean water, which is used to irrigate nearly 500,000 ha. Predominantly used for dairying, 270,000 cows run in herds with an average size of 760. In the last thiry years, there has been a signifcant shift to dairying under irrigation in this region.

Irrigated arable crops are also found in Canterbury on the best soils, producing average yields of 9.7t/ha for milling wheat and 8.5 t/ha for malting barley. Both the current world record for wheat and barley yields are held by Canterbury farming families. The region also produces a signifcant proportion of the world’s radish and carrot seed, along with forage seeds and pulses.

Dairying has also increased in Southland, and has always been