Roadmap Reveals Key to Low Carbon Farm

our key areas which are vital to a low carbon footprint on beef and sheep farms have been identified by EBLEX in the latest chapter of its ongoing roadmap work.

The third publication in the series, Down to Earth, was launched today in London and includes sections on emissions benchmarking, carbon sequestration, waste in the supply chain, retailer activity and farmer case studies.

Farming Minster Jim Paice welcomed the latest chapter of the roadmap and the ongoing work by EBLEX to improve the carbon footprint of the beef and sheep sector. He said: “The updated roadmap continues to support the message that enhancing on-farm efficiency can also help to improve the environment.  The leadership that EBLEX is demonstrating is important in ensuring that beef and sheep farmers continue to be aware of, and act on, this.”

The characteristics of low and high carbon farms were identified after interrogating carbon data from nearly 200 farms in England which participated in a carbon footprint survey with EBLEX or a similar survey with McDonalds.
They tie in with work from the second part of the roadmap, Testing the Water, and EBLEX’s Business Pointers benchmarking project as being areas where improved efficiency will help the bottom line as well as environmental performance. These are:

•    Achieving optimum daily liveweight gains
•    Selecting for slaughter at optimum weights and specifications
•    Feeding good quality grass or ration to maximise rumen efficiency
•    Achieving best output per breeding animal.

“Once again this work is showing that carbon efficiency goes hand in hand with economic efficiency so improving the areas highlighted will bring double rewards. This is an important message for farmers,” said Chris Lloyd, EBLEX industry development manager, who is leading the roadmap work.

“We have included farmer case studies to get down into the detail of how certain enterprises achieve good results, illustrating to others how good farming practices can foster lower emissions.

“Down to Earth is effectively the third chapter in the beef and sheep meat environmental roadmap project and builds on work we have done previously, while also looking into new areas. We have our largest carbon data set yet thanks to working closely with McDonalds, and this gives us confidence in the consistency of the modelling and the general trends for carbon output from the range of English beef and sheep production systems.

“The lifecycle for beef and sheep production is relatively long and we will start to see the results of the work we have been doing to date filter through over the next few years. We are committed to supporting English producers with good advice which will drive greater efficiency in their enterprises and ultimately improve their emissions.

“That said, most key performance indicators we set in chapter one in 2009 – which gives targets for different actions that would achieve the desired 11% reduction in emissions by 2020 – are showing improvement.”

Down to Earth also looks at soil sequestration for the first time and the potential mitigating role this plays for grazing livestock in off-setting direct emissions. In addition, it looks other areas of the red meat supply chain where efficiencies can be made, for instance in the processing sector and with retailers who are engaging with their own suppliers to improve the carbon.

Hard copies of the report are available on request by emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Alternatively, an electronic copy is available to download in the corporate publications section at www.eblex.org.uk