COLUMN: 'Faster than an agitator in a slurry tank the talking heads did their rounds...'

Agricultural emissions were the topic which caused more people to lose their cool across our airwaves than last week’s heat wave.

Preliminary EPA figures show that agriculture’s emissions rose by 3% last year, taking its share of the emissions pie to 37.5 %.

Faster than an agitator in a slurry tank the talking heads did their rounds: lobbyists, ministers, journalists and scientists.

Heated exchanges and blame games galore. But underneath the media bluster, what’s the cost to our rural communities?

This Government signed up to the climate action plan, there is a legal obligation to hit these targets by 2030, which is only 7.5 years away.

There is still no clear pathway in place for agriculture. Most people are naturally wary of change and our society is facing that on all fronts.

During times of change we work with what we know, in agriculture, we know there is at the very minimum a 22% cut in emissions is coming.

Why haven’t farm policymakers been more on the ball with the new technologies? Bandied about are anaerobic digesters, feed additives that reduce methane, renewable energy production on farm and carbon trading.

But in practice, are these technologies going to be rolled out across Irish farms in seven years?

There’s positive data from the Teagasc signpost farms, which have shown that farmers can cut emissions through protected urea fertiliser, some mixed species swards and low emissions slurry spreading by 15 to 20 %.

Empower farmers to make better decisions. Individual farm carbon assessments should be part of this.

In Northern Ireland, currently underway is a 45 million pound scheme to carbon measure every field, hedge and tree on farms in the north.

A similar scheme is coming to Irish farm’s in derogation in 2023, but should we be more ambitious and roll this across all farms?

Farmers have been making a valid argument for years that carbon sequestration through hedgerows and grassland has been largely ignored.

Emission factors for methane in grazing are potentially overestimated according to new research from Teagasc scientists.

When it comes to agricultural emissions, there are a lot of variables.

Dare I say, flippant inaction towards gathering a true baseline data of carbon emissions since climate action began to become a mainstream issue back in mid 2010 has truly come back to bite the agriculture sector.

“That will never happen” consequences are happening right now. Is a reduction in the infamous “national herd” an easy way out of this when it comes to Government targets?

It’s a low hanging fruit. If we are still bickering and debating in 2025, that’s potentially the path that faces us.

The cost to our communities here in Tipperary: increased rural stagnation and decreased family incomes. At the full 30% reduction, which the certain parties are pushing for, a KPMG survey estimates 56,000 job losses await. 15,600 on farms. But 41,000 across the wider agriculture sector.

Those who work in creameries, processing, factories, stores, agri-sales, veterinary practices, drivers, delivery services, retail and more. Friends, neighbours, families.

Where is the just transition for them in this plan for rural Ireland? The plan for on farm diversification is unclear, livelihoods affected outside the farm gate have barely received a whisper of attention. Farm protests currently sweeping across mainland Europe could possibly find their way to this island.

The IPCC have stated fossil fuel use is the main driver of climate change, though debate across national media has brought to the fore voices of the minority entrenched deeply within the climate action movement who oppose livestock agriculture.

Any mention of Ireland being one of the most sustainable dairy producers worldwide are dismissed under cries of greenwashing.

The global population is rising, food security is a priority and demand for meat and dairy will always exist. In Ireland, it’s an efficient way of converting inedible grass, grown on marginal land unsuitable for other crops to edible food. It’s nutritious and people enjoy the produce.

A number of wealthy countries are exporting their carbon intensive industries to developing nations.

On paper they are reducing their emissions but in reality moving them to countries where regulations are not as strict and systems less sustainable.

Reductions made in Irish dairy production will be picked up by other nations. Including this point in debate is not “what-about -ery”, it’s the practical reality.

Common sense. But the box will be ticked, the target met and backs will be patted in Leinster House.

Change is a certainty in life and as a young farm family, interesting times lie ahead.

Katie Gleeson is an online content creator who documents family life on a dairy farm in rural Tipperary via her Instagram account @katieinthecountry.