Professor Gerry Boyle:

To add a quick point which is brought out in our presentation, there is one very good example where we get both a reduction in carbon footprint per unit of animal or per kilogramme of output, or whatever it might be, and we get a reduction in total emissions. That is the case of slaughtering animals at an earlier age, which gives that double dividend. That is one example.

It is relevant also to the earlier discussion on the stable herd. Obviously, if there is a stable herd and we can reduce the footprint, we reduce overall emissions. The risk is that there can be a rebound effect, as we call it. If a farmer generates more profit because of being more efficient, then there is an incentive to increase numbers and activity. That is the difficulty. If we can hold activity level constant and push down the footprint, that is where we get the real dividend from efficiency.