
• Grants to benefit 350 producers
• Top advice on carbon footprints
• Part of climate change solution
Meat processor ABP has announced a £1.5m investment to help 350 beef and sheep farmers to become more sustainable.
Called PRISM 2030, the new iniaitive will help participants improve their carbon footprint and sustainability over 2-3 years. It will include assessment of carbon footprint, soil health, water use and support biodiversity creation and resource efficiency.
Support from Harper Adams University and the Andersons Centre will give farmers direct access to the latest environmental innovations.
A sustainability grant will also be available, alongside peer-to-peer learning and expert advice throughout.
ABP sustainability director Dean Holroyd said: “British red meat production is among the most sustainable in the world, but we can and must do more because as an industry, we are well placed to be part of the climate solution.”
“We want to build on this position of strength, and while PRISM will mean direct support for those in our supply base who qualify for the programme, all of the outcomes will be made available to the wider industry.
“In this way, it’s our hope that this initiative will play a part in helping beef and sheep farmers across the country become the global leaders in sustainable meat production.”
NFU livestock board chairman Richard Findlay said the initiative would help establish a baseline for farm based carbon and wider sustainability data, before delivering wider support.
Moving forward
“All of this helps evidence and reinforce with primary data the strong sustainability credentials where British livestock farmers sit within a world context but with further intent to progressively keep moving forward.
“The NFU has the ambitious goal of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions across the whole of agriculture in England and Wales by 2040, so I welcome this investment from ABP. Livestock producers need initiatives and support like this to help us get there.”
The collaboration with Andersons is led by partner and senior research consultant Michael Haverty. He will focus on carbon assessments as well as other sustainability benchmarking.
Input from Harper Adams is being led by Professor Jude Capper, who will indicate the areas each producer could be focusing on over the duration of the project to achieve the biggest gains.
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