Actions always speak louder than words

​While we here in NI continue to talk about our response to climate change, action is now the order of the day – south of the border.
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For example, the Republic’s Climate Action Plan for agriculture includes a projected 25% increase in the area of crops to be grown over the next decade. One very obvious policy response to this has been the doubling of support available for protein crops.

Throw in the fact that Dairygold Co-op has just confirmed a minimum 2023 contract prices for spring beans of £230/t and we are talking real money.

The Irish government is also incentivising livestock farmers to make improved efficiency and sustainability levels a key priority.

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Farming Life news

But let’s get back to the relevance of arable within the climate change debate. In many ways it is the forgotten sector within local agriculture. However, it has the potential to drive positive change within the farming industry as a whole in so many ways.

First off, cropping enterprises already have a very low carbon footprint. So, an expansion of the arable area would help agriculture as a whole meet its climate change targets. In addition, the production of more home-grown grain would reduce our reliance on imported feed. This approach makes financial sense while also helping to lower the carbon footprint of farming as a whole.

And, finally, increasing the area of crops grown in Northern Ireland would significantly enhance biodiversity levels within our rural areas. And all of this is feasible. Back when horses where the engines of industry, we grew thousands of acres of oats in this part of the world. The reality is that local arable farmers are amongst the best in Europe when it comes to growing high quality crops. However, expanding NI’s arable area will require the proper incentives to be made available.

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