About

The reintegrating of crops and livestock could make a major contribution to the development of the wider EU circular economy and contribute to sustainable growth, through the more effective recycling of materials and resources, the minimization of waste, and a reduction in external supplies of feed and synthetic fertilizers, with potential biodiversity, environmental and soil health benefits. However, this comes with significant challenges, particularly the enhanced methane emissions from enteric fermentation, land degradation due to over grazing and water pollution, and the need to effectively substituting all/most inorganic fertilizers with organic manures, where the use or storage of these does not compromise greenhouse gas emissions.  Additional complications could arise due to associated modifications in land use, including a shift from a grass-based to a forage/alternative crop-based diet, altered grazing practices and increased competition between food and animal feed or the use of biogas or bioenergy crops. Another key issue is the economic consequences of reintegrating livestock. Whilst mixed farming systems were previously common and economically viable, new developments will require them to be matched with current production and market conditions, suitable value chains and business models to ensure their long-term viability. These are the major issues that will be addressed in the ReLIVE project.

Results

1. We have published a review on the ability of grassland soils to act as a sink for methane. These results indicate that grasslands can act as a significant sink for this gas and contribute to reductions in farm greenhouse gas budgets. Further work is exploring the mechanisms involved to exploit the capacity of soils to take up methane. This is important as methane dominantes the greenhouse gas budget of livestock systems.