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Presentation to the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Dr Helen Sheridan
Dr Paul Murphy
School of Agriculture and Food Science,
University College Dublin
Challenges facing Agriculture
• FH2020 (national roadmap)
• Convention on Biodiversity 1992
• Birds Directive (79/409/EEC as amended 2009/43/EC)
• Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC)
• EIA Directive (85/337/EEC)
• Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC)
• Agri-Environment Regulation (2078/92/EEC)
• EU 2020 Greenhouse gas targets
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Agri-Baseline – Summary of Farm Habitat Incidence
Sucklernon-REPS
SucklerREPS
Othernon-REPS
OtherREPS
DairyREPS
BeefREPS
Dairynon-REPS
Beefnon-REPS
4
5
Hennessy et al. (2013)
Dependence of Irish Farmers on Direct Payments
Grassland Field Margins
• 2001 Walsh Fellowship funding – PhD student
– Reintroduce botanical diversity
– Management measures to facilitate persistence
• Treatments
– Fencing– Rotavation and natural regeneration– Reseeding with a grass and wild flower mix
• Width and grazing
• 2006 Research Stimulus funding - PhD student
• 2012 Walsh Fellowship Funding – MSc student
Grassland Field Margin Botanical Results
Sheridan et al. (2008) Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 123, 225-232.
Sheridan et al. (2009) Biology and Environment, 109B, 2, 91-102.
Sheridan et al. (2009) Ecology, Management and Restoration. Nova publishers, USA.
Fritch, Sheridan et al. (2011) Journal of Applied Ecology, 48, 551-560.
Anderson, McCormack, Helden, Sheridan, Kinsella, Purvis (2011). Journal of Applied Ecology, 48, 382-390.
Finn, et al. (2013)
0400800
12001600
Dry matter yield per hectareDr
y M
atter
Yie
ld p
er H
ecta
re (D
MY/
ha)
10
Irelan
d
Irelan
d
Netherla
nds
Flanders
Scotla
nd
England
Scotla
nd
England
Netherla
nds
New Zeala
nd
Brittan
y
Pays d
e la Lo
ire
Aquitaine
Basque Country
Galicia
North Portu
gal
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
N surplus (kg/ha)
143 kg N/ha
http://www.interregdairyman.eu/en/dairyman.htm
Mihailescu E, Murphy PNC, Ryan W, Casey IA & Humphreys J 2014. Nitrogen balance and use efficiency on twenty-one intensive grass-based dairy farms in the South of Ireland. The Journal of Agricultural Science. doi:10.1017/S0021859614000045
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500
400
300
200
100
0
N S
urpl
us (k
g N
/ha)
Milk Production (l/ha)0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000
Management
Buckley C, Murphy PNC & Wall D. Farm-gate N and P balances and use efficiencies across specialist dairy farms in the Republic Ireland. Teagasc Rural Economy and Development Programme, Working Paper 13-WP-RE-02 http://www.agresearch.teagasc.ie/rerc/downloads/workingpapers/13wpre02.pdf
Farm A
Farm B
12Melland AR, Mellander P-E, Murphy PNC, Wall DP, Mechan S, Shine O, Shortle G & Jordan P 2012. Stream water quality in intensive cereal cropping catchments with regulated nutrient management. Environmental Science and Policy 24, 58-70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2012.06.006
Arable A Arable B
P lo
ss in
stre
am (k
g/ha
/yr)
Well Drained
Moderately Well Drained
Poorly Drained
Well Drained
Imperfectly Drained
Poorly Drained
Well drained soil Poorly drained soil
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
0.30
0.35
0.40
0.45
0.50
Arable A Arable B Grassland A Grassland B Grassland C Grassland D
CatchmentPr
opor
tion
of so
ils w
ithin
each
P in
dex
P index 1 P index 2 P index 3 P index 4
Catc
hmen
t are
a (%
)
Soil P Index
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FH2020, GHGs and Water Quality
• FH2020 targets and GHG/Water Quality targets can be achieved, in principle• Management is key- Better Management Practices (BMPs)• Land use and land and nutrient management• Management determines fate of nutrients- taken up in crop/animal or lost to
the environment• Policies need to encourage BMPs• NAP / Nitrates Regulations• Integrated Catchment/Landscape Management• Advisory, Education, Knowledge Transfer• Better Farms, Discussion Groups, SmartFarms• Need to be able to get credit for improvements- inventories and product
labelling• Emission estimates based on simple measures of intensity can be misleading • One size does not fit all
