Smart Farming…… Delivering Public GoodsChallenging the Status Quo

Dr John Gilliland OBEBIAC Business Management Conference, March 2019

John Gilliland’s Experience in the Farming & Food Sector A Farmer

- Irish Tillage Farmer of the Year, 1992

- UK Green Energy Farmer of the Year, Runner up, 2012

An Industry Leader

- Director of Agriculture & Sustainability, Devenish

- Past President of Ulster Farmers Union (Foot & Mouth Crisis)

A Policy Advisor

- Chair, N. Ireland Sustainable Land Management & Ammonia, Expert Working Group

- Former Chair, UK Rural Climate Change Forum, DEFRA, London (2005 to 2012)

- Former Vice Chair, UK Sustainable Development Commission (Nuclear & Severn Barrage)

- Former Non Ex. Director for SAC/SRUC, Edinburgh (Carbon Management Centre)

A Regulator

- Former Non Ex. Director of the N. Ireland Authority of Utility Regulation

Producer

Processor

Retailer

Consumer

Improving Human

& Environmental

HealthOne Health…..

from “Soil to Society”

Food, Diet, Deaths & Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYS)Setting the Record Straight, 2016 Global Disease Risk Factors, Lancet 2017

DALYs, rather than

Deaths the bigger issue

Diet, rather than Food

Is the bigger problem

Deficiencies, rather

than Excesses

Is the bigger problem

Food today …..

is not always as Nutritious as it could be…

Diet-related Diseases are Increasing

Turn Around Fellas,

We Got it All Wrong!!

US study of nutritional data from both 1950 & 1999 for 43 different vegetables & fruits, found statistically significant declines in the amount of:

• Protein 6%

• Calcium 16%

• Phosphorus 16%

• Iron 15%

• Riboflavin 38%

• Vitamin C 20%

Changes in Nutrient Content of Vegetables & Fruit over time

Fan et al. J.Trace Elements in Medicine & Biology 2008

Changes in Nutrient content of Wheat over last 160 years

Levels of EPA+DHA ( g/100g ) in farmed Scottish Atlantic salmon between 2006 - 2015

Sprague et al. Nature 2016

Changes in the Nutrient Content of Oily Fish in the last Ten Years

Challenges in Developing Bio-enriched Food, via Livestock Feed

• Required levels of enrichment in food, after cooking

• Source of nutrient & inclusion level in feed

• Timing of inclusion

• Within flock/ herd variability

• Portion variability

• Eating quality & shelf life

• Animal performance & welfare

Choosing an Enrichment, or Public Good Global Blood Levels of EPA & DHA Omega 3 fatty acids, in Adults

K.D. Stark et al. 2016

Quantifying the Current Lack of Public GoodUK’s Current Daily Intake of Omega 3 vis a vis Recommended Daily Intake

0

200

400

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1600

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11-15 yr 16-24 yr 25-49 yr 50-64 yr

LC n

3 in

take

mg

n3

/we

ek

(via

oily

fis

h)

Age group

Not enough!

Low Risk

High Risk

0%

4%

8%

12%

Om

eg

a 3

In

de

x

(EP

A a

nd

DH

A IN

RB

C)

UK Mean for Adults 3.68%

Being able to Quantify the Scale of the Positive ImpactOmega 3 Index – An Internationally recognised Index of Cardiovascular Disease Risk

UK Mean for Children 2.46%

Effects of 6 months of eating on 160 people:-

• Omega-3 enriched chicken-meat versus control chicken meat.

• Omega-3 enriched eggs versus control eggs.

Chicken-meat Eggs

>3 Portions Control Chicken-meat/Week

(n=80)

>3 Control Eggs/Week (n=40)

>3 Omega-3-PUFA Enriched Eggs/Week (n=40)

>3 Portions Omega-3-PUFA Enriched

Chicken-meat/Week

(n=80)

>3 Control Eggs/Week (n=40)

>3 Omega-3-PUFA Enriched Eggs/Week (n=40)

Gold Standard

Being able to Validate the Positive Impact CrediblyRandomised Double Blind Control Human Trial

Human Health Improvement, using the WHO Omega 3 Index

67.6

34.432.4

62.5

03.1

0

10

20

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50

60

70

80

Control Chicken and Control Eggs Omega 3 Chicken and Omega 3 Eggs

High Risk Medium Risk Low Risk

Number of people with

High Risk Omega-3

Index was

Halved by Eating Both

Omega-3 Chicken &

Eggs

As a Result…. Delivering the Public Good June 2016, Waitrose launches World’s first, Naturally enriched Chicken Meat

Nov 2017, American Heart Association awards Research, best International Paper

Adding Value Pre Farmgate, with unique rapid human Bio Availability

Food as a Public Good EAT–Lancet Reference Diet & Impacts on Premature Deaths & Disease Burdens

If globally adopted

11 Million premature deaths avoided,

mainly due to changes in reductions in

Sodium, & increases Fruits, Vegetables,

Whole Grains & Nuts

A 90% Decrease in Red & Processed

Meats intake;

• WILL NOT save many lives or DALYs.

• WILL RESULT in greater deficiencies in

Iron, Omega-3-PUFAs, Calcium,

Vitamins D & B12 and Protein, with

disproportionate effects on women and

children

Improving Environmental Public Goods through Innovation in FarmingThe Purchase of the Devenish Lands at Dowth, Nov 2013

The Devenish Lands at DowthCreating a Robust, Scientific Base Line to aid Future Management Decisions

Surveys carried out since 2014

Aerial LiDAR; Geophysics by Romano Germanic Commission; GPS Soil Analysis

Overseen by Dr Steve Davis, UCD School of Archaeology, for Devenish

The Lands at Dowth – LiDAR Surveying

Initially, Using LiDAR to find new Archaeological Landscape features

Subsequently, to aid Credible Land Management Decisions

(S. Davis, UCD. 2014)

Lessons from the Past, the Phosphate Legacy Challenge

Geophysical & Soil Surveys show Phosphate tail

of 1,000 & 1,600 Years respectively

(S. Davis, J. Gilliland, P. Ward, 2014)

Rectangular Enclosure

1,000 ADConcentric

Enclosure

400 AD

The Conclusion – 6,000 yrs of Food Production EvolutionDemonstrated uniquely, by the presence of Six Heritage Landscapes

1. The Passage Tombs, Middle Neolithic, c. 5,500 years old

2. The Henge, Late Neolithic, c. 4,500 years old

3. The Bronze Age Settlement, c. 3,000 years old

4. The Concentric Enclosures, Early Medieval, c. 1,400 years old

5. The Rectangular Enclosures, Late Medieval, c. 1,000 years old

6. The Demesne Landscape, c. 300 years old

Dowth’s Future – A Landscape “Performance House” for RuminantsMeasuring & Managing to improving Public Goods

Delivering Soil Improvement Measuring Carbon Sequestration

Respecting Our Heritage Reducing Over Land Flow

The Devenish

Lands at Dowth

A UNESCO

World Heritage Site

6,000 Years of Farming Evolution

Getting the Basics right, Understanding Soils & Nutrient UptakeSummary of Northern Ireland’s Grassland Sector

Soil pHNitrogen

Utilisation Phosphorus Utilisation

Potassium Utilisation

% of Fertiliser Wasted

5.0-5.5 77% 48% 77% 32%

5.5-6.0 85% 52% 100% 21%

6.0-6.5 100% 100% 100% 0%

Teagasc Green Book 2017

- Grass Dry Matter Utilisable Yields – Average 5.1t/ha/yr

Top Grassland Yields 16t/ha/yr

- Soil Analysis – Only 2% analysed on an annual basis

- Soil pH – Optimal 6.0, 64% not achieving optimal

- % Soils at optimal fertility – 18%

Creating a Baseline at Dowth to Restore our Soil Fertility – Soil pHMeasuring…..Managing…..& Measuring again!!

Feb. 2014

Average pH 5.5

Feb. 2018

Average pH 6.1

Feb. 2016

Average pH 5.7

5t/ha Lime (spread Uniformly)

Sept 2014

2-8t/ha Lime (Variable rate)

Sept 2016

2014 20182016

Observations - Soil Potash levels Increase with Grazing,

but, Reduce with Cutting for Silage or Hay

Precision Soil Analysis shows expected Impact of 4 previous years Management!!

Measuring Management Impacts on Dowth’s Soil Fertility – PotashMeasuring…..Managing…..& Measuring again!!

Cut

Cut

Grazed

The Ultimate Dilemma for Grass Based Ruminant AgricultureThe Recognition that farms can sequester GHGs, as well as emit them

But - How could this be credibly validated, independently??

Ruminants and Climate ChangeA Vision from the UK’s Committee on Climate Change, Nov 18

Predicted Consumption change by 2050

Beef, Lamb & Dairy Products down by 46%

Pig & Poultry up by 25%

At a Landscape Scale - Creating the Baseline 1. Soil Carbon Levels & their Variations

Dowth Grass Swards & its Soils

Soil A Horizon sampled to 30cm in 88 soil pits

No ploughing for 40 Years

Some land never ploughed

Soil Type – Brown Earth

Average Soil Carbon - 2.1%

Expected Soil Carbon – 4 to 5%

Why the disparity in Soil Carbon Levels??

(L. Graham, Devenish. 2017)

S. Green, Teagasc, 2014

Creating the Baseline – 2. Above Ground Carbon in Trees & HedgesUsing Aerial LiDAR Survey to measure Above Ground Trees & Hedges

International Recognition for the Use of LiDAR T

Please be alert and observant?!!Carbon Credits for 460,000 ha of Congo Rain Forest Secured by WWF

91 114 137 159 182 205 228

580

726

871

1016

1161

1306

1451

-76

69

214

359

504

649

795

-200

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1600

1 1.25 1.5 1.75 2 2.25 2.5

cows No sequestration potential Nett carbon emissions (incl. sequestration)

GHG displacement by Sequestration at Max Non Derogated Stocking RateSuckler Cows & Calves, Grazing System, on 90 ha of Grass at Dowth

Red dashed line represents a Stocking Rate of 2 LU/ha, At which point,

Dowth’s Sequestration displaces 56% of all GHGs emitted by Cows & Calves

665 tonnes of CO2e is the difference

between Counting & Not Counting

Sequestration, at Dowth, on annual basis

Stocking rateLU/ha

Suckler cows

& followers

Net Carbon

Sequestration

Tonnes/yr

Blue bar. Total

CO2e, with no

sequestration

CO

2e E

mis

sio

ns (

ton

nes/y

r)

How to Sequester more Carbon at the Devenish Lands at Dowth

• Improve Soil pH

• Increase use of Legumes within the Sward

• Reduce age of trees and hedges to encourage more vigorous growth

• Incorporate agroforestry in grazing platform

• Soil pH being corrected since 2014

• Management of woodlands and hedgerows started 2018

• Multi species swards trials starting 2019 with UCD, funded by DAFM

• Starting agroforestry in 2019

Maximising Sequestration, while extending Grazing SeasonAgroforestry - Trebling Sequestration, while extending Trafficability by 17 weeks!!

J. McAdam, 2017

Gordon, 2007

Using LiDAR to Access “Over Land Flow” of Water & Phosphate

80% of Phosphate enters water course through “Over Land Flow!”2018 – Digital analysis of LiDAR surveys allow individual Watersheds to be identified

N. Ireland Sustainable Land Management Strategy PilotUpper River Bann Catchment

Funded by EU Exceptional Emergency Aid

Outreach Communication of

Soil Sampling & LiDAR Analysis

Individual Farm Maps of

Soil Fertility & Risk issued

Led by CAFRE

Analysed by AFBI

Finished April 2018

Validation through Building Credible Research PartnershipsSelected as Wageningen International Lighthouse Farm

Smart Farming…… Delivering Public Goods

Investing in Research, creating credible, verifiable Solutions….. “Soil to Society”Where food production is seen as a solution & not just a problem

Challenging the “Status Quo!”