Soils have become high nutrient input systems resulting in the use of substantial amounts of synthetic fertiliser to grow our crops. There is a simple solution to this problem, we need to feed our “underground herds”
We need livestock to create one of the few viable solutions available to mitigate climate change. Good agricultural practices can move carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into the soil.
There are seven farms which have negative net carbon emissions for the duration of this study. That is amazing! It completely changes the narrative of the negative impact of dairy farming.
Rebecca Burgess, founder of the Fibershed project says that, “our soils have a carbon debt; the atmosphere is gushing with carbon. The carbon over our heads is literally in the wrong place” and this couldn’t be truer.
I would hope that by now most farmers have heard that building soil carbon has huge advantages. Both from a productivity and an environmental perspective. How do you go about building soil carbon?
Did you know that dairy cows can be carbon neutral? Yes, I am talking about greenhouse gas emissions neutral. I know it seems crazy.
Mutualism is a symbiotic relationship that benefits all parties, which is the relationship we strive for on the dairy farms we work on.
I think many people have been sceptical of the idea that dairy farms could possibly be carbon neutral, but this data shows that this is actually possible. This is a massive positive impact! The theory is being put into action.
When livestock farmers manage their pasture soils in a manner that supports soil health, in association with good grazing management practices, the result is soil that has the ability to convert carbon dioxide and methane gas into stable forms of carbon in the soil.