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Tackling Climate Change Efficiently: Focus Farm Meeting Sparks Local Interest

Improving farm efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions are ‘two sides of the same coin’ – become more efficient and a reduction in emissions will follow. This was the message from SAC Beef and Sheep Consultant Dr Jimmy Hyslop when he addressed farmers at the inaugural Climate Change Focus Farm meeting at Glenkilrie Farm in Perthshire.


A good turnout of around 40 members of the local farming community heard how Glenkilrie’s owners, David and Morag Houstoun, are rising to the challenge of becoming one of four farms taking part in SAC-facilitated and Scottish Government-funded Farming for a Better Climate initiative.

Farming for a Better Climate is designed to find practical ways of cutting greenhouse gas emissions from farms that will not only reduce their carbon footprint but make real financial gains for farming businesses. The idea of the focus farm, where the farmer is joined by a support group of like minded neighbours, is to look at ways of turning theory into practice that best suits the area and farm type. SAC is providing expert guidance and administrative assistance during the three-year project.

The first meeting at Glenkilrie – a 1,000ha upland sheep and beef unit near Blairgowrie - focused on cows and considered condition scoring, silage analysis and feed rationing. Dr Hyslop’s message was that it is all about becoming more efficient with inputs and reducing waste when producing saleable cattle.

“While offering financial benefits, ‘getting back to basics’ and adopting practices focused on improving efficiency will inevitably reduce greenhouse gases”, he said.

In addition to the very practical advice offered by Dr Hyslop, Antje Branding of the Scottish Government’s Rural and Environment Directorate spoke of the rationale behind Farming for a Better Climate, describing how agriculture can make a substantial contribution to enabling Scotland to meet its stringent climate change targets.

SAC’s Graham Kerr and Peter Lindsay, who along with colleague Rebecca Audsley are overseeing the focus farm project, provided more detail and invited those present to give their views on how it might take shape at Glenkilrie over the next three years.

Peter Lindsay said: “The five key issues Glenkilrie will be using energy more efficiently; developing renewable energy; storing carbon in soils and vegetation; optimising the use of fertiliser and manures and optimising livestock production. The support group will play an important role, working with David and Morag to steer the project forward. They will be thinking how to adopt lessons learned at Glenkirlie on their own farms. I’m pleased with the good turnout and hope that interest will continue to grow.”

Explaining his reasons for joining the project, David Houstoun said: “You read so much about climate change and things like measuring your carbon footprint and it can seem very complicated. But when I heard about the five aims I realised that they were mostly things I wanted to do anyway, like reducing the amount of fuel we use, so we decided to take part.”

Another of the focus farm owners was present at the event and found the interest it generated to be very encouraging. Neil Butler, who with his wife Linsey runs Stewart Tower, a mixed dairy and arable farm near Stanley, Perthshire, said:

“A big part of the project is based around measuring what we’re already doing and then making decisions, such as using less fertiliser or putting more clover in the grass. But we are also considering new practices. One area we are looking at is renewables - a small to medium wind turbine to offset the amount of power we use in our ice-cream parlour. Like the other focus farms we have an open mind and are willing to try doing things differently.”

For more about the Farming for a Better Climate initiative - including profiles of the four farms involved - please visit our Climate Change Focus Farms section.

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