Speaking at the Devon County Show,
Environment Secretary, , will announce further
funding for research projects that will help boost farmers’
businesses and help improve the environmental impact of
farming.
The recent Food Strategy committed to
spend £270 million on research and development in the Farming Innovation Programme
up to 2029. This Programme is designed to bring together farmers,
growers, businesses and researchers for collaborative,
industry-led research and development that will drive up the
productivity, profitability and resilience of England’s farming
sectors, whilst helping to improve the environment.
The Environment Secretary will
confirm that in July, £12.5m from the Farming Innovation
Programme will be set aside for research and development focused
on ‘sustainable farm-based proteins’, in partnership with UKRI
this funding will be made available for farmers, growers,
businesses and academics to collaborate on projects that seek to
improve the efficiency and sustainability of farm-based protein
production, including protein crops like beans and peas and
traditional livestock production, in order to help boost domestic
production of healthy and sustainable food.
This might be achieved through
the development of new methane reducing feeds and supplements, or
the breeding of new sustainable and resilient crops and
livestock.
The Environment Secretary will
also showcase an example of innovative technology that is helping
farmers capture the methane from slurry stores and turn it into
biomethane, creating an additional income stream for farmers.
Bennamann in Truro, Cornwall has pioneered this innovative
approach building on world-leading science to help livestock
farms of any size to cover their manure slurry lagoons, capture
the fugitive emissions they produce, establish energy
independence and improve business profitability through lower
bills and sales of high value biomethane.
Environment Secretary,
, said:
“Improving farm profitability
and tackling environmental challenges requires us to allow the
natural cycle of life to operate fully. Rather than seeing farm
wastes like slurry as a problem and a cost, we need to start
recognising that they are actually a resource that could be
monetised to boost farm incomes.
“Cornwall has a long history of
pioneering new technology and it is at the forefront of new
approaches that could revolutionise the way we manage farm yard
manure to create a new income stream for farmers and generate a
green fuel that significantly reduces greenhouse gas
emissions.”
Bennamann is working with the
Local Authority and six of its farms to turn waste methane into
biomethane. The biogas results from the anaerobic digestion of
manure stored in the slurry lagoon on each farm, which can then
be processed into a sustainable, commercially viable product
as compressed gas or liquid fuel. That fuel will be able to power
lorries and tractors, heat households and businesses, provide hot
water and even charge electric vehicles. The Council plans to run
its road maintenance vehicle fleet on this greener source of
fuel. There is even a New Holland methane tractor in production,
with Bennamann able to supply the tractor’s fuel on farm at a
fixed period discounted price from the waste on farm.
For a 150 head dairy farm, the
system creates biomethane worth approximately £30,000 in
additional income for the dairy farm and it removes about half of
the methane generated by the herd, making a significant reduction
in greenhouse gas emissions.
