A new study investigating methane emissions and the environmental impact of UK upland sheep living off a natural forage diet is being carried out in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
The Forage for CH4nge project – funded by Innovate UK – is led by Yorkshire farmer Adrian Thornton-Berry in collaboration with the National Sheep Association (NSA), Agri-Tech centre, the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, the Scottish Rural College and the Yorkshire Agricultural Society.
It will explore how the amount of methane produced by native Swaledale sheep differs to that of half-bred sheep when both breeds graze on the upland landscape forage.
The aim of the project is to support upland farmers and help to improve productivity and financial resilience.
By utilising breeds that are efficient in the local landscape, and exploiting the most appropriate grazing resources, there is opportunity to reduce input costs and increase profitability, providing potential to access premium meat markets.
The study is one of the recent projects, which have secured funding from the Department for Environmental Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and UKRI as part of the Research Starter Programme.
Adrian Thornton-Berry, farmer, said:
I wanted this project to happen as I believe without our traditional breeds our precious natural habitats will deteriorate with larger more profitable breeds which modern farming practises favour.
If we can show these native breeds are better for the habitat and climate change then it would support these native sheep in a more sustainable system.
Nicola Noble, NSA Project Manager said:
We are all aware of the challenges we face to achieve net zero targets set by the Government.
Projects like this help us to understand emissions from different sheep breeds but also help emphasise the need to stop assessing farm business on a single metric.
Grazing sheep in the hills and uplands not only produce nutritious food and a sustainable fibre, but deliver wider benefits socially, economically and environmentally that need to be recognised by consumers and policymakers.
Holly Jones, Network Coordinator and Funding Strategist at the Yorkshire Agricultural Society said:
As a charity, the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, prides itself in supporting projects to advance and encourage agricultural research for the benefit of the protection of the environment while championing the role of farmers as providers of high-quality produce.
This project, delivered through our Farmer Scientist Network initiative, will be enlightening for the UK farming industry in further understanding our pathway towards Net Zero whilst putting a spotlight on the high value of upland heritage breeds.
We are delighted to be to working collaboratively with our allied partners on this project.
For regular updates, about the Forage for CH4nge project, click here.
You can watch a webinar about the project, here.
