Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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We are conscious in the Department of the obligation in the sector to address the emissions profile in agriculture. Under the targeted agricultural modernisation schemes, we have funding available. Deputy Pringle mentioned ammonia. That is one area where we are significantly challenged because our ammonia emissions are virtually at the ceiling. We are grant-aiding low emissions slurry spreading as a technology in contrast to splash-plate spreading of slurry. The former reduces ammonia emissions by in the region of 30%. That is one area where there is a significant gain.

There is a host of other initiatives and the agrifood industry generally needs to take these on board. These include investment in the beef data genomics programme. We are enhancing that through the additional allocation in the 2019 budget for the beef environmental efficiency scheme to reduce the carbon footprint of the beef sector. There are those who will say that, relatively speaking, our emissions profile in the beef sector competitive, but we need to do more.

Along with New Zealand, we are considered to be one of the most carbon efficient producers of dairy per unit of output. However, we need to reduce emissions intensity in the dairy sector as well. Measures such as the beef data genomics programme and the beef environmental efficiency scheme will enable us to accelerate the journey to a more carbon efficient beef sector by having a small suckler cow, a bigger weanling, a more fertile suckler cow and a cow that is easy-calving. All these collectively contribute to a lower carbon footprint on the slaughtered animal. That is important, not only because of the climate change responsibility but also increasingly important for the market, which is asking questions about the environmental sustainability of the industry.

We have measures such as milk recording on the dairy side. There has been increased output in the dairy sector since quotas were abolished. I have seen figures suggesting that 70% of the increased output has come from increased cattle numbers and 30% from increased use of genetics. We need to turn the tables substantially and get more from improved genetics in the dairy herd. Up to a point, it is understandable that there may have been a headlong rush to avail of the opportunities post quota. However, we now need to concentrate on catching up with efficiencies. We need to ensure data are available from milk recording. Currently, milk recording is used in only 40% of dairy herds. Increasing the number of herds where milk recording is used and using the data from milk recording to improve the genetic merit of the dairy herd further would have been considered to have been a leader in terms of the economic breeding index. We need to do more in that area. That will allow us to get more production from fewer cow numbers. That improves the carbon efficiency of the industry.

Grassland management is a particularly important area, as is improving soil fertility. It is a staggering figure, but in the beef sector fewer than 1% of beef farmers are involved in grassland management. Grassland management involves measuring grass growth using pasture base or other technologies that are available to ensure production is from a sustainable food source. We can grow grass better than anyone else. Promoting use of grass measurement is important. Teagasc runs the Grass10 programme. Yesterday, we had the announcement of the grassland farms of the year across the dairy, sheep and beef sectors. We need to mainstream grassland management. Again, there is higher participation on the dairy side but we need to ensure that these practices are brought into the mainstream across all sectors.

We need to improve soil fertility to its optimum level and reduce in some instances the amount of chemical fertiliser that we need to apply. When applying fertiliser we should use the most environmentally friendly options, for example, protected urea as opposed to using calcium ammonium nitrate as a nitrogen source. That significantly improves the effect of the release of nitrous oxide, which is another one of the greenhouse gases. Soil fertility is important.

Another side of this is greenhouse gas production. If we are producing food, we will have greenhouse gas production. We need to look at how we can sequester the maximum amount of carbon possible. We spend in excess of €100 million on the Department's afforestation and forestry road programme. It is important that farmers take up the opportunity this presents. My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Doyle, recently concluded a review of the forestry programme and has tweaked it significantly, with new options such as low-density agri-forestry to try to address the mix of deciduous and hardwood trees. We are increasing the payments marginally to improve take-up to sequester carbon production.

There is no one initiative that will address this problem on its own. It will involve a combination of a series of initiatives, some of which I have mentioned.