Participants in the Beef Data and Genomics Programme (BDGP) are being urged to complete their 2020 Carbon Navigator “as soon as possible”, according to the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF).
The Carbon Navigator is produced by Bord Bia and Teagasc to measure environmental gains that can be made on farm, the federation says.
A key objective of the scheme is to reduce the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions by improving the quality and efficiency of the national beef herd.
The Carbon Navigator helps to measure these emissions and is therefore a requirement of the BDGP programme, the ICBF says.
Available to complete either online or with paper forms, the online option can be accessed under the “services” section on participants’ ICBF login page – with farmers urged to remember to save their update when completed.
The information required to be updated includes both the housing and turnout dates for suckler cows and yearlings/other cattle, the federation says. However, if the farmer is out-wintering animals there is an option to tick “100% out-wintering”.
Other requirements to fill out include nitrogen usage and concentrate usage for 2020 for the beef enterprise; however, fertiliser or meal used by other enterprises on the farm, such as sheep, are not included.
There is an example given for converting the nitrogen in a compound fertiliser to the CAN equivalent.
Slurry management is the final requirement, where farmer participants should record the percentages spread in spring, summer and autumn of 2020 and tick which method was used.
Participants are advised to keep a copy of what is recorded on the form for your own records.
Urging farmers to complete the Carbon Navigator either online or using the postal survey form as soon as possible, the ICBF concluded by noting that the BDGP helpline can be contacted on: 023-8832883; or by emailing [email protected].