Latest news with #CAFRE
Agriland
10-06-2025
- General
- Agriland
CAFRE models cutting ammonia emissions on beef and sheep farms
The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has announced that the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) has modelled both its Lowland Beef and Sheep Centre and their Hill Farm as part of efforts to reduce ammonia emissions. The Lowland Beef and Sheep Centre at the Greenmount campus in Co. Antrim is spread across 130ha of grassland, carrying approximately 100 suckler cows and 270 breeding ewes. The Hill Farm Centre, also in Co. Antrim, is comprised of 960ha, carrying 100 suckler cows and a further 1,300 breeding ewes approximately. The farms have being modelled using data from their 2022 year in line with the National Ammonia Reduction Strategy Evaluation System (NARSES) Ammonia mitigation measures in place In terms of cattle, DAERA stated that both farms are applying all slurry using low emission slurry spreading equipment (LESSE), which is said to reduce ammonia by approximately 30%. On top of this, they are using only stabilised urea when spreading artificial fertiliser, which decreases emissions up to 15%. There are four above-ground slurry stores across the two farms, one of which has an impermeable cover. The other three above-ground stores have lightweight expanded clay aggregate (LECA) applied, which can reduce ammonia emissions by 60% compared to stores with no cover. As regards to housing, CAFRE are outwintering approximately 20 sucklers to reduce silage and slurry storage demand. Sheep In terms of the on-farm sheep, the main difference between the two locations is that 80% of the Hill Farm flock is housed for three months, while the lowland herd are at pasture all year round. Lowland Farm Hill Farm Grazing/outdoor 72% 53% Housing 0% 18% Manure storage 0% 9% Manure spreading 0% 15% Nitrogen fertilisers 28% 4% Source: DAERA LECA CAFRE applied LECA to their uncovered above-ground slurry storage unit in January, 2025, in a bid to reduce ammonia emissions. The product comes in large 2.2m3 bags with an approximate price guide of £330/bag. The amount of product needed is calculated by multiplying size of the store in square metres by 0.1, which will result in a 10cm layer volume. This value is then divided by the volume of the bags to give the number required for the store.
Agriland
05-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- Agriland
Photos: CAFRE Greenmount students celebrate at annual formal
College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) students swapped their workwear for their finest attire to attend the annual Greenmount Campus formal recently. The event held at Tullyglass House Hotel brought together agriculture, floristry, horticulture, land-based engineering, and veterinary nursing students for a well-deserved night of celebration. The hotel provided the perfect setting for a night of dining and dancing with laughter and music filling the room, according to the organisers. For many, it was a chance to catch up with friends, share stories, and make memories before the demands of exams and final pieces of coursework fully set in. CAFRE Students were delighted to welcome back to CAFRE Clare Gowell, who had studied for a semester at Greenmount Campus, as part of the student exchange programme with Michigan State University (MSU) in the autumn. Clare attended the event with current MSU student, Mariah Palazzola. The students completed agriculture and horticulture modules for a semester at the Greenmount Campus during the 2024-2025 academic year. There was also generous support from local agri-food businesses who donated an array of prizes for a charity raffle. A total of £1,246 was raised for the Student Council's nominated charities, Friends of the Cancer Centre and Kidney Research. CAFRE has wished all of its students well in their forthcoming assessments, and for some their final exams at CAFRE Greenmount Campus.
Agriland
07-05-2025
- Business
- Agriland
20 NI farmers visit The Netherlands to explore innovations
The College of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) has led a farm innovation visit of 20 Northern Irish farmers to The Netherlands, in an effort to learn about the innovations being implemented on farms there in a bid to reduce ammonia emissions. The visit comes after the Department of Agriculture, Environment, and Rural Affairs (DAERA) published its 'Environmental Improvement Plan', which sought to develop an ammonia strategy to deliver reductions in emissions from agriculture in Northern Ireland. According to Judith McCord, senior air quality technologist with CAFRE, this visit to the Netherlands represented an 'ideal opportunity' to learn about cutting-edge research on ammonia reduction, the adoption of these technologies on farms, and to facilitate knowledge transfer on the topic to the 20 Northern Irish farmers in attendance. Dutch innovation The first day included a visit to Wageningen Dairy Research Centre at Leeuwarden, looking at the continuing research being carried out there on ammonia emissions, the measurement of ammonia emissions, and the direction of future research. Later that day, the group visited Marijin Van Art, a farmer within the Dutch 'Network of Practical Farms', who is monitoring the impact of emissions, based on changes in farm management. The 'Network of Practical Farms' was developed and run by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature, and Food Quality as part of its climate policy, according to McCord. Frank Verhoeven, director of Boerenverstand, an independent consultancy firm for regenerative farming, addressed the group that evening on the role of data and how, by using a nutrient cycling assessment tool called the Kringloopwizzer, farmers can measure sustainability across a wide range of metrics in assessing farm emissions. On the second day, the group visited two Lely factories at Lely headquarters in Maassluis. Here, discussions centred on how technology has developed over the years and where the future of technology and innovation lies in meeting sustainability targets. The final visit was hosted by Farm Nescio, who McCord said was the first farm to have a milking robot installed in 1992 and has since further retrofitted technology to advance their sustainable enterprise. McCord stated that this was an 'ideal' farm to look at how retrofitting innovative technology has improved production efficiency and helped to chieve the Dutch legislative targets for emission reductions.
Agriland
05-05-2025
- Science
- Agriland
Reducing ammonia by up to 54% through combined innovations
Introducing management strategies to help reduce ammonia (NH 3 ) emissions and lessen the impact of the chemical on the surrounding environment is crucial. However, it is important to first of all understand the emission sources and magnitude of nitrogen (N) release to navigate the 'pinch points' on farm where you can employ innovative technologies to achieve maximum impact. Senior air quality technologist, Judith McCord states that modelling of the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) Dairy Centre inputs through the National Ammonia Reduction Strategy Evaluation System (NARSES) allowed the flow of total N and total amount of ammoniacal N (TAN) to be quantified. The use of this farm ammonia modelling tool identified where ammonia is produced and how N is managed through the farm enterprise cycle. The ammonia assessment was compiled using farm data relating to herd and manure management from the following three age stages of livestock: Dairy cows; Dairy calves (0-1-years-of-age); Dairy replacement heifer (1-2-years-of-age). CAFRE commissioned the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) to work on the modelling of farm ammonia emissions with and without ammonia mitigation technologies applied. The modelling assessed a range of legislative and voluntary measures implemented at the CAFRE Dairy Centre. Reducing ammonia Ammonia emissions for the CAFRE Dairy Enterprise for the year modelled amounted to 3.54t. This scenario comprised as follows: 187 Holstein Friesian dairy cows; 30% replacement rate; 100% stabilised urea used on grazing and forage ground (no calcium ammonia nitrate); 100% use of low emission slurry spreading equipment (LESSE); Targeted and reduced crude protein (CP) diet of 17% for the milking herd; Low emission flooring in the milking cow cubicle house and high frequency scraping; All above ground slurry stores covered with an impermeable cover. Application of slurry using LESSE reduces ammonia emissions on the CAFRE Farm Estates. Low emission flooring is used within the CAFRE Dairy Centre to reduce the mixing of faeces and urine. The non-mitigated comparison modelled comprised as follows: 100% calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN) (no stabilised urea) Splash plate slurry application; No targeted or reduced dietary protein; Standard concrete flooring with limited scraping; Open above ground slurry stores. This scenario resulted in modelled emissions of 6.61t NH 3 /year. At the CAFRE Dairy Centre, lactating dairy cows had 48% lower ammonia emissions when there were mitigation strategies implemented in comparison to having none in place. The dairy replacement enterprise and dairy calves had 55% and 68% lower ammonia emissions respectively when the relevant mitigation technologies were applied. McCord commented that the result was very encouraging, and said: 'The use of ammonia-reducing technologies on Northern Ireland farms will help the sector reduce ammonia emissions.' Judith McCord, senior technologist, CAFRE reports on the use of reduced and targeted crude protein diets for the dairy cattle at CAFRE. Emission sources The biggest hotspots for emissions within the CAFRE Dairy Centre were in the milking cow category and manure handling during housing and spreading. Housing emissions account for 42% of the total in both the mitigated and non-mitigated scenarios. However, mitigation technologies modelled in housing such as low emission flooring and reduced protein diets accounted for reductions of 0.78t and 0.34t/year, respectively. Emission sources on farm showed positive reductions in manure spreading and manure storage, where the use of LESSE and impermeable covered slurry stores accounted for approximately 2t/year of combined reductions. Above ground slurry stores are covered to reduce ammonia emissions at the CAFRE Dairy Centre. The use of protected urea in the mitigated scenario reduced the amount of total greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) emissions produced in comparison to unprotected urea. McCord said: 'Mitigation strategies that can be implemented at various stages of the system will help to reduce ammonia emissions.' 'Demonstrated clearly at CAFRE – the efficient management of nitrogen can contribute to a reduction of ammonia emissions by up to 54%.' The top three ammonia-reduction technologies to apply on farm, based on the CAFRE ammonia emissions scenarios, are as follows: 100% use of LESSE; Installing low emission flooring which has an ammonia efficiency factor of 11kg NH 3 , alongside high frequency scraping (every 2 hours); , alongside high frequency scraping (every 2 hours); Reducing CP in milking cow diets by up to 2%.
Agriland
02-05-2025
- General
- Agriland
NI National Hedgerow Week to take place next week
The Tree Council along with the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) in Northern Ireland are celebrating hedgerows as part National Hedgerow Week which begins next Monday, May 5 and this year's theme is the 'Future of Hedgerows'. The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has described hedges being an incredible asset to farms, providing shelter to livestock, capturing carbon and providing food and shelter for a significant proportion of wildlife. Senior biodiversity technologist at CAFRE Nicola Warden said:: 'National Hedgerow Week is about highlighting the important role hedgerows have in our farmed landscape. 'Working within the biodiversity team at CAFRE, we help the farm team to manage existing hedgerows and plant new ones across the farms. 'Throughout the year, it is important to be considering options for future hedge planting and management. 'An existing hedge could be rejuvenated, or a new hedge could be planted to connect two existing habitats, to provide shelter for livestock or to provide wildlife with a network of living field boundaries where they can find adequate spaces to nest, rest or forage within.' Student learning about planting new hedges at CAFRE A recent bird survey carried out across the CAFRE lowland farms found that there are a lot of hedgerow bird species such as blackbirds, wrens and dunnocks using CAFRE hedges to nest or forage in. CAFRE has been managing existing hedgerows to maximise their biodiversity potential through moving away from an annual cut to a three-year rotational cut on suitable internal hedges. 'This has increased the area available to birds to set up safe nesting sites where the nests can be out of reach of predators,' Warden continued. 'Moving to a three-year rotational cut will also allow the hedge species to produce more flowers during the summer and a lot of berries to feed the bird population throughout the winter period. A new mixed species hedgerow planted by students protected from weeds using biodegradable film 'In line with the theme for [National] Hedgerow Week, CAFRE is committed to providing students with the skills and knowledge required to allow them to plant new hedges in the future and manage existing hedges to maximise their biodiversity potential. 'Each year approximately 300m of new hedgerow is established with Level 3 Advanced Technical Extended Diploma students.'
