Boortmalt needs around 70% of its barley growers to cut their emissions by 30%, David O’Hare, Boortmalt sales manager, told the Irish Drinks Forum last week.

He said there is some low-hanging fruit to reduce emissions on farms – for example, in fertiliser use and cover cropping – but he noted that moves to lower carbon farming need to be both environmentally and economically sustainable.

Rewards

Globally, Boortmalt is partnering with Soil Capital, a Belgian-based company working with 4,000 growers in France, Belgium and the UK, to build a system, which is country-specific, where farmers reduce emissions and measure those emissions to be rewarded for their action.

O’Hare said he is confident that this new initiative will be rolled out in Ireland, starting next year.

“Anything that’s being recommended we want to be data-driven and scientifically proven. We don’t want it to come down from Boortmalt telling a farmer how to farm. That’s up to them,” he said.