CAVI Sustainable Livestock Production: Meeting 2030 Targets

 

The CAVI Sustainable Livestock Production Conference was held at the Tullamore Court Hotel, County Offaly, Ireland on Wednesday 18th January. Sponsored by XLVets Ireland and MSD Animal Health, the event brought together senior figures from across the veterinary community to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the agricultural sector. VetSalus were kindly invited to join the speakers panel, with Rachel Hayton delivering an engaging talk entitled ‘Embedding Sustainability in Veterinary Practice’.

The day began with a welcome from Geoff Dooley, who outlined the current environmental position of agriculture in Ireland. In July 2022, the Irish government announced their overall target of 51% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 across all sectors, and Net Zero by 2050. The agricultural sector is expected to contribute a 25% reduction in greenhouse emissions, with farmers being promised generous incentives to make the necessary operational changes.

With 2030 targets looming, the event explored the environmental impact of the Irish livestock industry and how vets can use their skills and expertise to make a positive contribution towards a more sustainable agricultural sector.

Next delivering a typically engaging talk was Frank Mitloehner from the Department of Animal Science at UC Davis, entitled ‘How to feed the world without wasting it’. In 1920 the human population was 2 billion, compared to 8 billion today, and feeding these increasing numbers is putting limited planetary resources under increasing pressure. In developed countries, approximately 10% of all Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions are caused by agriculture, with roughly half of those due to livestock farming. Of those livestock, Beef production is responsible for the most greenhouse emissions per kilogram of food product, however, all areas of livestock production have scope to improve their environmental credentials. The CLEAR centre has a useful Explainers resource, which can be found here.

 

Frank Mitloehner presenting 'How to feed the world without wasting it'

 

Following Frank was Doreen Corridan from Munster Bovine, who gave an overview of Irish processors' views on sustainability, carbon, calculations, targets, nitrates and water. Many Irish dairy farms operate block calving methods to tie in with grass growth, reducing the reliance on supplementary feeds whilst also lowering the carbon footprint of their products. Interestingly, the Irish dairy industry uses only 5% of sexed semen compared to 94% in the UK. Milk producer Kerry have recently introduced their Dairy Sustainability Program, Evolve, which is designed to support the accelerated adoption of science-based sustainable action and best practice across their farms.

Rethinking Methane was the theme of Frank Mitloehner’s second session. Methane is a hugely potent greenhouse gas in terms of Global Warming Potential (GWP), however what is often lost in the discussion surrounding livestock production is that the half-life of Methane is a mere 12 years, compared with 110 years for Nitrous Oxide and an astounding 1000 years for Carbon Dioxide. As a result the conventional GWP100 metric can be misleading when applied to methane emissions. A alternative measure of GWP, denoted GWP*, uses the same metric values interpreted in a new way and provides a more accurate reflection of the impact of methane on global temperatures. Frank also gave an overview of some novel methods of slurry management being adopted in the US, such as covered slurry lagoons capturing biogas and converting to renewable natural gas (RNG) which can be burned to power vehicles. Here is a link to his rethinking methane video with more information.

Prof. David Kenny from the Animal Health and Grassaland Research and Innovation Centre at Teagasc gave an insightful presentation on the various research projects currently underway in Ireland, such a study from P Crosson on reducing the age of first calving in beef and suckler herds improving impact on the environment as well as profitability. Feed additives also have a huge scope of improving methane output from cattle, although the efficacy of green seaweed vs brown seaweed native to Irish shores is to be debated. Results of this research will be available in 2023.

After lunch, Rachel Hayton delivered a talk on behalf of VetSalus and Synergy Farm Health, entitled, covering the sustainability challenges facing not only the UK veterinary sector, but also the Dutch and Danish agricultural landscape.

 

Rachel Hayton presenting 'Embedding Sustainability in Veterinary Practice'

 

Rounding off the afternoon were John Murray from Bord Bia, who gave an overview of their Farm Sustainability learning hub, and Fergal Morris from MSD Animal Health who discussed the role of technologies such as SenseHub in improving farm sustainability, along with an interesting overview of shifting consumer attitudes. Lastly Tom O’Dwyer from Teagasc gave an overview of their Signpost Advisory Program, which is a program for the public good and available for all Irish farmers. Find out more here.

 

Shifting consumer attitudes were discussed by Fergal Morris

 

The event was an opportunity for practising vets and agribusinesses to learn and start to look at their own operations, understanding that agriculture can be part of the solution. CAVI will host their annual conference later this year, for more information on this event and bios of all speakers visit www.caviconference.com. For copies of the presentations given or interview requests email [email protected]

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