Agriculture

Radical reforms needed to slash dairy emissions, report warns

A cap and trade system on methane levels and retirement scheme are among the measures proposed

Charlie McConalogue will soon receive a report from the Food Vision Dairy Group, which he set up in January to advise on how to reduce emissions from dairy farming. Picture: Clive Wasson

An unprecedented “cap and trade” system on methane levels, and a multimillion-euro scheme to encourage farmers to move away from dairy, have been put forward as potential options to reduce emissions from Ireland’s agriculture sector, the Business Post has learned.

The two proposals are among a suite of options in an interim report by the Food Vision Dairy Group, which was set up by the Charlie McConalogue, the Minister for Agriculture, in January of this ...