During the conference, held virtually, Mr Bicknell, Head of Business Development at CIEL (Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock), gave members an insight into the work of the organisation in helping to introduce innovative technologies into livestock production.

The front door to a collaborative network

Mr Bicknell said: “CIEL is the front door to a collaborative network of expertise, we’re linked with universities and research centres across the UK, including Aberystwyth University in Wales, to ensure that the projects undertaken at these centres have a commercial application on farm.”

One key area of work Mr Bicknell focussed on was tackling climate change and how CIEL is working with partners to find practical solutions for farmers to become net zero. “The UK already imports almost £50billion of food, and we know that our self-sufficiency figure is around 62-63%. Effectively, the sustainability, environmental impact and carbon criteria of the food we consume is all embedded in that food chain.

“When we talk about reducing our carbon impact as a farming and food industry, one of the things that is always put forward is ‘well just reduce production’, however, if we reduce production, we just end up increasing imports. We also have no idea if that product is coming from a country with an even greater environmental impact.

Challenging simplistic assumptions

“Simply shifting responsibilities to other countries isn’t the answer. This is why we must always challenge simplistic assumptions that are made about a highly complex supply chain.”

CIEL’s most recent work is focussed on helping to equip farmers with the tools needed to help the UK progress towards net zero. Mr Bicknell informed the conference of a new report which aims to provide a comprehensive description of all the ways farmers can reduce emissions on farm. Due to be published by CIEL in March this year, the report will accurately explain what farmers can do in each sector, that will have the biggest impact on reducing emissions.

“Every farm is in a different position so we can’t treat every farm the same – our guide will assess the things that can be done, but also if it’s going to be expensive to do, if the benefit will be realised in the short or long term, if there is reliable technology already available to farmers and how much impact each measure will have on a farmers’ carbon footprint.”

Net zero goal

NFU Cymru Deputy President Aled Jones, who also addressed the meeting, said: “NFU Cymru has long argued that Welsh farmers are part of the climate change solution. As custodians of the Welsh countryside, Welsh farmers are working towards the industry’s goal of achieving net zero UK agriculture by 2040 and I’m sure CIEL’s research will help with this endeavour.

“In trying to achieve this target we must not allow our productive capacity to erode even further. Livestock has a big part to play in our net zero journey and I’m sure CIEL’s report will emphasise how crucial livestock farming is to our farming systems and the way that we manage carbon.

“Our network of family farms are home to thousands of trees, hedgerows, grasslands, soils and peatland sequestering thousands of tonnes of carbon, our red meat is some of the most sustainable in the world. We know there is more we can do alongside producing world-class food, but Welsh Government must put favourable policies in place to aid and encourage this work.”

NFU Cymru would like to thank HSBC UK for sponsoring all 11 of this year’s virtual county conferences.