Celebrity farmer Adam Henson is hosting a new podcast discussing how the British beef sector is working together to meet its ambitious net zero target.
The three-part series 'The Sustainable Beef Podcast' explores the changes that beef producers are undertaking to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2040.
Mr Henson, who runs a beef and sheep farm in the Cotswolds, hosts the podcast in association with meat processors, ABP.
In the first episode, Professor of Sustainable Beef Production at Harper Adams University, Dr Jude Capper, looks at the practical ways to reduce emissions.
She says British beef farmers are in a strong position as the country consists of two-thirds of agricultural land that is unfit for growing anything but grass.
“This unique base lends itself to grow the most environmentally friendly beef in the world - it’s all about every producer doing a little better with every animal, every pasture, every system.
"This will make a remarkable difference. If, for example, each farmer reduced the age of slaughter by even just a few days, it will have a positive impact.”
Adam Henson says the beef sector has to play its part in meeting the country’s net zero ambition, and this means big changes to how farmers run their businesses and how meat is produced.
"The UK has some of the lowest greenhouse gas emissions from livestock; we are doing a good job and getting better all the time.
"We have the opportunity to be a world-leader in sustainable meat production and we have a big PR job to do. "
ABP, one of the UK’s leading red meat processors working with 12,000 British farmers, has set up two demonstration farms in County Wexford in Ireland and on the Shropshire and Staffordshire border in England.
These are to gather data on beef rearing systems and genetics to support farming businesses to produce more sustainably and efficiently.
Group Sustainability Director at ABP, Dean Holroyd explains: “We are seeing through our demonstration farms and producers that economic and environmental sustainability go hand in hand.
"The most environmentally efficient animals are also the most economically beneficial.”
The Sustainable Beef Podcast is available on all the usual channels.
