Agrecalc

Independent farm carbon calculator

Agrecalc, a carbon footprint tool developed by combining practical expertise with world-class agricultural science, is a precise instrument that offers both breadth and depth of on-farm and through-the-supply-chain calculations of GHG gas emissions.

The Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool:

• Provides Reports for carbon audits.
• Enables benchmarking across total GHG emissions, per enterprise and per kilo of product.
• Enables business decisions based on resource efficiency.
• Is simple and easy to use.

Agrecalc is the largest source of collated farm benchmark data from thousands of farms, having been used as the designated tool to deliver carbon audits under various schemes since 2016. It is recognised as the preferred carbon calculator in many of the emerging government programmes.

The newest version of the software was launched in July 2023, and continuously updated and improved since, with new modules like biochar and soul carbon module. It represents the move of the platform onto the cloud service bringing numerous benefits to our users:

• Modern design, streamlined and intuitive user interface allows for quicker data input, thanks to frictionless user experience, data integration and many pre-populated fields, saving time on data entry.
• Precise and easy-to-read data visualisation enables effortless consumption of the results, facilitating comparison and allowing for scenario-testing without going through costly experiments.
• Measuring your results against thousands of verified datasets and visualising new mitigation options makes it easier to identify areas of improvement for your business.
• Inclusion of multiple herds and flocks (separately or together), a wider list of feeds, crops and fertilisers, as well as inhibitors, help achieve better carbon footprint results.
• The two latest features to be incorporated into the tool are the biochar module, developed in collaboration with Black Bull Biochar, as well as the upgraded and improved Soil Carbon Module, enabling users to monitor carbon sequestration and observe potential changes in soil carbon that correlate with applied regenerative measures.

Project NUE-LEG will quantify the benefits and impacts of introducing nitrogen fixing legumes into grassland swards on multiple ecosystem services on real life UK farms, to include, among others:

• Livestock key performance indicators – such as production metrics, emissions and also
• Livestock Health
• Species Diversity – both above and below-ground
• Agronomic Performance – to include sward yield and quality and
• Soil Physical, Chemical and Biological Changes – to include soil health, soil structure and wider macronutrient cycling and soil carbon sequestration.

It is expected that these combined environmental benefits will lead to lower ammonia and GHG emissions, and ultimately a lower overall farm carbon footprint.

Two tools will be used in NUE-LEG to measure environmental benefit:

• Agrecalc, a commercially available farm carbon calculator, will be used to provide a carbon footprint baseline for each project farm. Measured data generated within the project will then be incorporated across the inputs categories of land use, livestock and energy in order to model the impact of introducing elite legumes on farm carbon footprints.
• A novel research orientated agri-LCA tool will be developed specifically for NUE-LEG and will utilise generated project data to assess improved protein use scenarios on modelled farms.
  This will be the first time in the UK that either such a singular, or combined, approach to measure the environmental benefit of forage legume-based pastures will be used.

This will be the first time in the UK that either such a singular, or combined, approach to measure the environmental benefit of forage legume-based pastures will be used.

Dr Rachael Ramsey, Agrecalc Head of Science and Research, says: “We believe that introducing new elite legumes will ultimately lead to a more resilient and sustainable farm business, both environmentally and economically, and will support UK farmers on their transitional journey to net zero.”