This week has seen Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, announcing the launch of payments under the Straw Incorporation Measure (SIM).
The scheme is designed to provide financial support for tillage farmers, enabling them to increase soil organic carbon (SOC) levels by chopping and incorporating straw from cereal and oilseed rape crops into the soil.
Payments under the scheme are set at €250/ha for oats, wheat, barley, and rye, with a reduced rate of €150/hectare for oilseed rape straw.
According to Teagasc tillage specialist, Ciaran Collins, straw incorporation has a key role to play in driving down the carbon footprint of cropping enterprises.
“Straw incorporation is an important measure for tillage farmers in Teagasc’s Marginal Abatement Cost Curve, which outlines actions farmers can take to both reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and capture carbon.
“Other important measures highlighted in the abatement curve for tillage farmers include the use of cover crops and the application of organic manures.
“Incorporating straw into the soil has been shown to deliver significant carbon sequestration benefits.
“According to the abatement curve, this practice can achieve an annual reduction of 1.08t of carbon dioxide equivalent per hectare,” he said.
Straw Incorporation Measure
Meanwhile, a study by Teagasc and Tirlán measuring the carbon footprint of Irish grain found that Tirlán’s oats, wheat, and barley have some of the lowest carbon footprints globally.
E.g., Tirlán’s oats recorded a gross carbon footprint of 207kg of carbon dioxide per tonne (significantly lower than those from other grain producing regions).
When straw is incorporated into the soil, the carbon footprint is further reduced, bringing some crops close to achieving net zero emissions.
Straw incorporation not only mitigates climate change but also enhances soil health.
By returning organic material directly to the soil, it boosts soil organic carbon levels and improves overall soil fertility.
“The impact of straw incorporation on soil organic matter levels depends on soil type, with fine textured soils like clay and silt being more effective at stabilising carbon, while coarse textured sandy soils see faster decomposition but arguably benefit more from the process.
“Net zero emissions is within reach for tillage farmers and straw incorporation has a vital role to play in the process,” Collins said.
The recently released Teagasc National Farm Survey (NFS) Sustainability Report 2023 confirmed that that the average tillage farm produced 145.8t of carbon dioxide equivalent, where agricultural greenhouse gas emissions are concerned in 2023.
However, only 26.4% of GHG emissions on these farms were generated from crop production.
Despite being specialised in crop production, 57.4% of tillage farm emissions were from cattle present on these farms, with a further 16.2% from sheep.
Energy-based GHG emissions were also quantified as part of the report, showing that specialised tillage farms, on average, produced 0.21t of energy-based GHG emissions per hectare in 2023, and higher emissions per hectare were associated with higher economic performance.