Feed labelling to help farmers gauge carbon footprint
© Tim Scrivener Dairy compounds and blends supplied by Mole Valley Farmers (MVF) are to include labelling on their environmental credentials as pressure grows on farmers to account for farm emissions.
From 1 August, labelling on conventional feeds produced by the business will include a carbon footprint figure on bespoke and off-the-shelf products, expressed as kg CO2e per kg.
See also: How do three main farm carbon calculators compare?
The figures, calculated using environmental impact information from the Global Feed LCA Institute, will be combined with best estimates for production and transport, to provide a total carbon footprint up to the delivery of feed onto farm.
The figures will be independently audited using a specialist consultancy firm.
MVF’s head of nutrition, Chris Bartram, said the initiative comes as the dairy industry moves towards rewarding farmers for reducing their environmental impact.
“We want to help producers to more accurately calculate their business’s carbon footprint by providing them with the information they need about the environmental attributes of the diets they feed,” he said.
“We can then advise on where they can make environmental gains with their ruminant diets, while also continuing to help them hit production targets and maximise margins.”
The labelling initiative marks the next step in MVF’s Climate Positive Agriculture programme; this includes a rationing programme that calculates the carbon footprint, methane and nitrogen output of a total diet.