Net zero Arran Over the past ten years carbon auditing has increasingly found its place on the list of activities farmers and crofters are asked to undertake on a regular, if not recurring basis. ALEX PIRIE, SENIOR CONSULTANT If it is done carefully, correctly and backed by trusted advice
The climate change group on Arran is a farmer driven initiative,
and implementation the process can be potent tool for any
bringing in specialist speakers and consultants to address
agricultural business. Regardless of where you are and what
queries and develop action plans for issues identified by the
sector you work in, carbon auditing can deliver indicators of
members.
inefficiencies in production systems, which will inform decision making at a high level.
As a result, the group has had members who have established stubble turnips to fatten lambs and facilitate grass reseeds. They
Since the Beef Efficiency Scheme came to its conclusion,
have had farms not cropped for decades growing spring barley
farmers on the island of Arran have opted to continue carbon
for their own feed and bedding straw, and established thousands
auditing, holding meetings to identify reasons for high
of meters of hedgerows to soak up atmospheric carbon and
emissions and take collective, collaborative and coordinated
mitigate some of the worst excesses of climate change.
action to address climate change. There is no suggestion here that everyone should be a member
So, what is the group and how does it work?
of a climate change group, there are a number of factors that
Well, fundamentally, the farmers on the island each get a
have influenced the success of Net Zero Arran, and some of
carbon audit done annually and meet quarterly to discuss the
those would not easily be replicated.
results and option for improvement. However, members on Arran see participation as an By the end of this year, the group should have completed 88
opportunity to improve their production systems and some are
audits and held 12 formal meetings since launch, including
genuinely interested in concepts like natural capital and high
events with the Scottish Farm Advisory Service (FAS) and the
nature value farming. It is a broad church in that sense, with
National Farmers Union Scotland (NFUS) and has been
commitment to bettering your business, landscape and local
supported throughout their growth by Farming for a Better
community at the heart of it.
Climate (FFBC). Each area in Scotland will have their own challenges and barriers to low carbon farming, but with policy drivers pushing farmers to find their own kind of green, those that are resistant may find themselves, very quickly in the red.
Get in touch alexander.pirie@sac.co.uk
Perspectives | Autumn 2023
