Ten dairy farms in West Cork will trial €700,000 next-generation methane reducing technologies.

This is part of Carbery’s Farm Zero C project in partnership with European climate innovation agency, Climate KIC, which will see farmer using treatment for improving manure management and satellite technology to map biodiversity.

Methane from enteric fermentation and manure management accounts for over two-thirds of Ireland’s agricultural emissions, and almost 20% of the country’s overall greenhouse gas emissions.

John O’Donoghue, one of the farmers who will be participating in this trial, said the project is about taking what has been tested on one farm and bringing it to more of them.

“We have been seeing what works on one farm, as part of Farm Zero C,” he said. “We will see then what works practically and what will actually make a difference to the average farmer.”

Meanwhile, Enda Buckley, director of Sustainability for Carbery said: “This project gives us the opportunity to bring these practical solutions to more farmers, faster.”

Technologies

The initiative will prioritise ‘ready now’ innovations, to reduce methane emissions rapidly while retaining profitability.

These technologies will be selected by Carbery and the relevant farmers and will include Glasport Bio’s Slurry Abate system.

The first year will focus on trialling technologies, building collaboration with the first 10 farmers, collecting baseline data, and developing viable financial and narrative models. In year two, these insights will be scaled, and a second farmer cohort onboarded.

Stewart Gee, Deep Demonstration programme lead at Climate KIC, added that farmers are on the frontlines of the climate transition, but so too are their livelihoods and wellbeing.

“This initiative focuses not just on emission cuts, but also on social resilience, farmer wellbeing, economic security, and local action.

“The aim is to create clear, realistic, and long-term pathways for farms of all types to transition, without leaving anyone behind.”

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West Cork dairy farmers trialling methane reducing technologies

Methane from enteric fermentation and manure management accounts for over two-thirds of Ireland’s agricultural emissions, and almost 20% of the country’s overall greenhouse gas emissions.