Tillage farms had the highest greenhouse gas (GHG) “emissions efficiency” of farm output over the five years from 2017 to 2022, according to a new report.
The Annual Review and Outlook released by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) suggests that in terms of GHGs per euro of output, tillage farms delivered the best results.
The report examines GHG emissions – generated by dairy, cattle and sheep farms relative to their production of milk, beef and sheepmeat – based on data from the Teagasc National Farm Survey – 2022 Sustainability Report.
According to the latest DAFM publication there has been a downward trend across each of these farm systems between 2017 and 2022 which “reflect a generally improving GHG efficiency of food output on Irish farms”.
“The five-year change is -22% for beef from cattle farms, and in the region of 30% for sheep farms, in terms of GHG emissions per kilogram of liveweight meat produced,” the DAFM report outlined.
The Annual Review and Outlook for Agriculture, Food and the Marine 2024 points to research which detailed that average GHG emissions per farm rose slightly across all farm systems in Ireland over the five years to 2022.
However, it also highlighted that data compiled by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) data indicates that GHG emissions in agriculture fell in 2022 and “are provisionally estimated to have fallen again in 2023”.
In general the report shows that average GHG emissions emitted per euro of agricultural output have tended to fall since 2018.
Based on data from the Teagasc National Farm Survey – 2022 Sustainability Report the average tonnes of agricultural GHG emissions per euro of real-terms output value fell 26% between 2017 and 2022.
“As emissions fell and output continued to grow, the emissions per euro of output have fallen over time, suggesting partial decoupling of agricultural emissions from production.
“The figures also highlight that both cattle and sheep farms generate more GHGs per euro of agricultural output than dairy farms and tillage farms,” the report details.