Until fairly recently, it’s unlikely that many of Scotland’s farmers would have been able to tell you what a carbon audit was. An even smaller number, and almost exclusively livestock farmers, may have actually undertaken the process of evaluating their carbon emissions from within their business.
Yet as we head into the colder, wetter and quieter months of the year many of Scotland’s food producing businesses will be gearing up to undertake a carbon audit for the first time, using one of the many PAS 2050 certified carbon calculators available, whether The Farm Carbon Calculator, Cool Farm Tool, Trinty AgTech Sandy or Agrecalc.
The National Test Programme (NTP) was announced by Scottish Government in October 2021 with the stated aim of supporting farmers to learn about how their operation impacts on climate and nature. Running alongside the Agricultural Bill Consultation, the Scottish Government is looking to both to guide it as it frames new legislation from 2026 and the role it can play in its commitment to reach net zero by 2045.
To help achieve this latter ambition, Scottish Government intends to implement ‘conditionality’ requirements on at least half of all funding support to Scottish Farmers by 2025. As such, farmers will be expected to deliver on targeted outcomes for biodiversity gain and low emissions production with an evidence-based approach, using the NTP as a baseline and making the most of emerging information, science, technology and tools.
So far only Track 1 of the NTP has been introduced, the purpose of which is to encourage farms to improve their knowledge of current environmental performance and efficiency. To allow farmers to achieve this there are two options currently open, carbon auditing and soil sampling. Track 2 – which is to design, test and standardise tools to support the processes to reward farmers for climate and biodiversity outcomes they deliver – was scheduled to be announced at some point in 2022 but time is running out.
Whilst many farmers in Scotland will already regularly undertake soil sampling, funding from Scottish Government is available for up to 20% of region 1 land at £30/Ha per annum which should be attractive for many. The funding for soil sampling is claimed on the individuals Single Application Form, however, growers must have undertaken a PAS 2050 compliant carbon audit within the past three years.
So, as sprayers are parked away for the winter and thoughts turn to the often-neglected office work of the last few months many farmers will now be looking to engage for the first time with a carbon calculator. There is £500 of funding available to farm businesses to help cover the cost of the carbon audit process, which includes a requirement for a review and recommendations made by an individual who is a qualified advisor under the Farm Business Adviser Accreditation Scheme for Scotland (FBAASS).
As a member-owned cooperative, Scottish Agronomy is always looking to add value to our members businesses. One of our senior agronomists, Eric Anderson, is now a certified FBAASS advisor allowing us to provide the supporting evidence needed to claim for a carbon audit, and as part of the service we will be supporting members to submit their carbon audit and to access the funding.
The process of carrying out a carbon audit is fairly straightforward, whilst the data required ranges in complexity depending on the size of the business and the enterprises included in the audit. For many growers the most time-consuming part of the process will be finding the data from within their own recording system.
When the report is complete it provides a summary of the emissions of the business and its enterprises, expressed as kilos or tonnes of CO2 equivalent. Whilst this provides an interesting starting point for farmers on their journey to understanding the potential impact of their business on the environment, the data will be of far more value to long-term planning and policy making. Reducing agricultural gross emissions is a key target when it comes to net zero, and to facilitate this requires baseline figures in place.
The result of a carbon audit currently has no consequences to growers, be it a “good” or “bad” score, the £500 funding will still be available and the access to soil sampling will be facilitated. , When it comes to the recommendations on how to lower the CO2 emissions based on the completed report some growers may find the topics discussed familiar. This is because the best way to reduce the calculated carbon footprint of a crop is to increase the yield and improve nutrient use efficiency.
Conversations with our members are regularly about fertiliser product choice, rates and timings, choosing the correct variety and appropriately managing it through the season, improving soil structure and alternative lower input crops, and are inevitably the headliners at our annual trials results meetings.
To be considered sustainable, a business must be able to conserve natural resources, support a healthy community and workforce and earn enough revenue to remain financially viable for the long-term.
The greatest influencing factors of the carbon calculators are what many growers consider to be best management practices in farming. So, whilst a carbon audit will be new to many, and may indicate a direction for travel on how to improve your emissions for future, the practices of good sustainable farming will not be.
Stevie Gray is an agronomist at Scottish Agronomy, a farmer-owned cooperative offering leading, independent agronomy advice based on the findings from its 20,000+ trials plots in Scotland and over 35 years of experience in the field. For more about membership or for a 30-day free trial, see www.scottishagronomy.co.uk.
