A Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Future Innovator Prize has been awarded to a project that is aiming to help dairy farms achieve net-zero emissions by 2027.
The prize also awards €2 million to the winner, Professor Kevin O’Connor and his Farm Zero C team at University College Dublin (UCD).
This money is to help deliver a climate neutral farm in Co. Cork, with plans to extend the strategy to a further 5,000 farms within five years.
Net-zero emissions by 2027
As part of the SFI Zero Emissions Challenge, Farm Zero C, in partnership with dairy producer Carbery Group, studied:
- How planting different types of grasses and clovers on pastures and supporting hedgerows can boost biodiversity and soil health;
- How changing what livestock is fed affects how much methane gas they produce;
- And using renewable energy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Farm Zero C is using Shinagh Farm near Bandon, Co. Cork, owned by the farmers of four west Cork co-ops, as a demonstrator for this project. The goal is that Shinagh will achieve net-zero emissions by 2027.
According to those working on the project, a mobile app will achieve wider deployment.
This will integrate farm and satellite data, habitat mapping and natural capital accounting, to provide users with information on the carbon footprint of their activities and to develop strategies to reduce these.
‘Huge potential’ for dairy farms to address challenges
Director of the SFI BiOrbic Research Centre in UCD Professor Kevin O’Connor, who collected the award on behalf of his team, said that Farm Zero C “is building a holistic plan to progressively bring farm emissions to net-zero, enhance biodiversity, and integrate natural capital and digitalisation into the farm business”.
“Agriculture is a critically important sector for Ireland socially and economically and dairy farms have huge potential to help Ireland to address two existential challenges, climate change and biodiversity loss,” he added.
Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture Martin Heydon described this project as “the Irish bioeconomy in action, safeguarding farmers’ livelihoods whilst protecting our climate and environment”.