This week’s standout figures include hundreds of potential job cuts at Defra, a hefty gap in funding the transition to regenerative farming systems, egg waste and the methane reporting dilemma.
600. The number of jobs being cut within Defra and its agencies, according to the i paper, sparking fears of a “brain drain of experts” in fields such as flooding and farming from government. The department said its headcount “has more than quadrupled since 2016” and that the cuts were to ensure the department was “more agile and productive”. Brexit has piled pressure on Defra and its agencies as they took over functions that were previously carried out by the EU.
€5,000. The cost of a farm transitioning to a regenerative system can range from €2,000 to €5,000 per hectare. While existing incentives can reduce the payback period from nine years to five, a significant funding gap remains – typically between €1,400 to €4,100 per hectare, reports the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. This gap is even more acute for small and medium-sized farms.
7.2m. The estimated tonnage of eggshells produced globally each year. This biodegradable debris is an abundant and cheap feedstock, with companies already using it as an additive for plastics, while the thin membrane inside has been used as a circular peptide ingredient for the skincare and beauty industry.
GWP100. The debate over how to measure emissions from ruminants is heating up. “We want to see all parts of the supply chain, including processors and retailers, adopt split gas warming equivalent metrics, using GWP* alongside conventional GWP100 accounting,” said the NFU in its new 10-year beef sector plan. “Adopting a unified ‘dual reporting’ approach at a national and on-farm scale provides an opportunity to contrast the two measures and build a more accurate picture of the impact of the UK beef sector on the climate,” the Union said.
