Milk Roadmap needs to keep dairy profitable as well as green
Friday May 2 2008
The NFU has today welcomed Defra's Milk Roadmap aimed at raising environmental standards, building on the sector's growing success to improve its performance.
The Roadmap has been launched to help the dairy industry reduce its potential impact on the environment and improve performance throughout the whole liquid milk supply chain. The NFU has worked closely with Defra to ensure the Roadmap takes account of the great achievements already made in the dairy sector and to develop targets that are realistic, achievable and in no way compromise the economic viability of dairy farming.
NFU dairy board chairman Gwyn Jones said: "In producing this Roadmap we have tried to be ambitious, yet responsible, and have devised a set of targets that should be achievable for the industry, given the right support mechanisms from government and others. Profitability is the cornerstone of dairy farmers' ability to improve the environment and the Milk Roadmap is about improving environmental performance, without compromising productivity."
The dairy industry has already come a long way in reducing its environmental impact. The Environmental Plan for Dairy Farming is an example of the sector taking responsibility for addressing its environmental challenges. It promotes integrated solutions helping farmers deliver environmental improvements that make economic as well as environmental sense. The Roadmap recognises the Plan's success and builds on the wider achievements the industry has made. Some of these include:
• Since 1990 methane emissions, often negatively associated with livestock, have fallen by 13.5 per cent.
• Fertiliser usage in agriculture has reduced by some 30 per cent over the last ten years, with a reduction of nitrogen application to dairy farms of 46 per cent
• Serious pollution incidents caused by farming were down by 35 per cent to their lowest ever level in 2006.
Mr Jones added: "These reductions have been made for a number of reasons - for example, in response to consumer demand through retailer-led initiatives, or because in many cases environmental savings result in efficiency and monetary gains. Farmers can and will respond to the need to go even further, but this is best achieved through incentives and voluntary initiatives. However, we recognise more can be done and dairy farmers are increasingly taking responsibility for their environmental impacts.
"The targets set out in the Milk Roadmap demonstrate that commitment."
Notes for Editors:
1. Methane reductions, while not intentional, are attributable to a decline in the number of dairy cows, which is a result of improvements in management strategies such as feed efficiency and higher yields. In short, dairy farmers are producing more from less and are helping the environment the process. Ref: UK Emissions of Greenhouse Gases, Defra 2007
2. The targets for the farming sector will be available on the Defra website - www.defra.gov.uk - from 11am on Friday.
Roadmap targets: farm level:
Short Term by 2010
50% of dairy managed farmland entered into Environmental Stewardship Schemes (increasing to 65% by 2015)
5- 15% reduction in water usage per litre of milk
65% dairy farmers actively nutrient planning (increasing to 90% by 2015)
95% of producers have a manure management plan
Medium Term: by 2015
20-30% of producers trialling new technologies to reduce emissions from cattle (including, for example, improved slurry and manure management, feeding efficiency and techniques, and genetics)
Long Term: By 2020
20 - 30% reduction in the GHG balance from dairy farms between 1990 and 2020
70% of non-natural waste is recycled or recovered as standard practice
40% of energy used on dairy farms is from renewable sources
Note: Definition of GHG Balance
A GHG Balance takes account of the emissions debits and credits from farming systems. Debits include emissions from manures, livestock and energy used in buildings, field operations and transport. Credits include the generation of renewable energy, the energy offset against other products from the farm such as calves and cull cows and reduction in emissions from enhanced energy and feed efficiency. This methodology enables farmers to reduce their overall emissions balance, while maintaining the flexibility to increase the size of their herd and farm business.
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