Carbon Accounting for Agriculture
Agriculture faces unique carbon challenges from livestock, land use and fertilisers. EcoHedge helps agricultural businesses understand and report their carbon footprint.
Agriculture and Climate: A Complex Relationship
Agriculture is responsible for approximately 10% of UK greenhouse gas emissions. Methane from livestock, nitrous oxide from fertilisers, and CO2 from machinery and land use change create a complex emissions profile.
Food retailers and processors are increasingly requiring carbon data from their agricultural suppliers. Supermarket sustainability commitments cascade through the supply chain to individual farms.
Government schemes like the Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme and Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) are linking payments to environmental outcomes. Understanding your carbon baseline positions you for these opportunities.
Key regulations and drivers
Typical emission sources in agriculture
Direct emissions
- Livestock methane
- Fertiliser application (N2O)
- Farm machinery
- On-farm fuel use
Purchased energy
- Farm electricity
- Irrigation pumping
- Grain drying
Value chain
- Purchased feed
- Fertilisers and chemicals
- Veterinary services
- Seeds and plants
- Transport to market
How EcoHedge helps agriculture businesses
Farm Input Tracking
Map your fertiliser, feed and chemical purchases to agricultural emission factors. Understand the carbon cost of your inputs.
Machinery and Fuel
Calculate emissions from farm machinery and vehicles using fuel purchase data from your accounts.
Supply Chain Reports
Generate carbon reports for food retailers and processors who require emissions data from agricultural suppliers.
Example: A mixed arable and livestock farm
A mixed farm needed carbon data for a supermarket supply agreement. EcoHedge analysed their purchase records and identified that purchased fertiliser and animal feed represented the largest controllable emission sources. They adjusted their fertiliser application rates and sourced local feed, reducing emissions by 15%.
Measure your farm's carbon footprint
From field to market, understand your agricultural emissions.
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