Ambitious plans to make farming ‘net zero’ by 2040 – 10 years ahead of the UK’s legally-binding national target – may not be achieved, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has told the BBC.

Reaching net zero means no longer adding to the total amount of greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere. The NFU said a lack of investment in climate-friendly farming measures by the previous government had made doing that by 2040 “tricky” but insisted that the deadline would not be dropped.

Meanwhile, the Soil Association warned that UK agriculture would not be able to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions “without radical changes”.

Farming is currently responsible for around 12% of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions, predominantly nitrous oxide from fertilisers and manure and methane from ruminant livestock, as well as carbon dioxide – to a much lesser extent – from energy and fuel.

The drive to net zero in farming has focused on helping farmers to develop more efficient and sustainable production methods, changing how land is managed in order to capture more carbon in the soil and boosting on-farm renewable energy schemes.

When it was launched, the 2040 target was described as “a national aspiration, not an expectation that every farm can reach net zero”.

Read the full article by BBC News NI here.