INSIGHT - Edition Ten - Winter 2021 online - Flipbook - Page 15
Helen Proud joined youngsRPS in 2014
after completing an BSc in Agriculture
at Newcastle University and an MSc at
Harper Adams and has since achieved
her MRICS and FAAV qualifications.
Helen works across both our Alnwick
and Dumfries offices dealing with a
range of professional matters including
landlord and tenant advice, Basic
Payment Scheme applications, sales
and lettings and valuations in both
Scotland and England.
not yet standard and do not produce the same results across the
board. The industry needs to push for a UK standard.
Before we enter into the new exciting world of carbon trading,
we must be aware of how much carbon we produce and whether
we have any spare to trade. As an industry my fear is that we
trade all our carbon to large companies and will be left in a
position where we are also required to offset our carbon, but
the assets we have available are tied up. The market is also so
new for carbon trading that no one knows the potential it could
reach, leasing or selling your assets now may not allow you to
realise the best price.
Could livestock be part of the solution?
Take it one step further, could agriculture actually help be
part of the solution?. Regenerative agriculture could be one
solution to fight climate change. But regenerative agriculture
needs livestock to work. Take mob grazing as an example, cattle
are moved to paddocks where the grass is at a more mature
phase than when it is usually grazed. This extra maturity allows
additional carbon to have been taken from the atmosphere.
Cattle are grazed before being moved onto the next paddock
and then the grass is left. The aim is to ensure that there is never
any bare soil. Bare soil means areas that are not able to take
carbon from the atmosphere, but also leads to areas that may
experience soil erosion. Alongside this it is recommended that
at least 7 different grass species and legumes are used; these
different grass types offer the soil different benefits. The legumes
also utilise the atmospheric nitrogen to feed to soil. These different
grass species have different weather resistant benefits, some are
drought resistant, some can survive water logged soils better, but
all ensure that there is soil cover. The carbon that is taken from
the atmosphere feeds to microorganisms in the soil and these in
turn help improve the quality of the sward and efficiency of grass
growth.
In an arable situation cover crops can be sown, which can then
be grazed. The cattle dung and subsequent poaching of the soil
helps to further feed the microorganisms in the soil, which thrive
off the carbon taken from the atmosphere and help to create a
healthy soil. The key is to ensure that you do not disturb the soil,
as cultivating releases carbon and destroys the life in the soil. Less
operations such as ploughing also reduces the man hours, fuel
used, and equipment required and so may also make sense when
looking at your margins.
Given that the experts predict that if we keep farming in a hugely
mechanical and chemical way in 60-100 years the world’s top soil
will be depleted, protecting your soil now is key to securing your
own businesses future.
Now wouldn’t that be a story to tell the public, that agriculture is
a key solution to fight climate change and that livestock may just
be the answer!
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