Nitrogen efficient plants for climate smart arable cropping systems (NCS)

The UK Processors and Growers Research Organisation will lead this ambitious national research programme with 200 UK farms and 18 partners to design an environmentally transformative, economically sustainable arable rotation system to optimise crop rotations for climate benefit.

UK farming accounts for 10% of the UK's total GHG emissions p/a (46.3 MT), 68% of total UK nitrous oxide emissions, 47% of total methane emissions and 1.7% of total CO2\. Arable cropping significantly contributes to these figures, utilising 596,496T of Nitrogen fertiliser p/a. Existing emission estimates are for individual crops, and the impact of these in successive rotational cropping remains unquantified.

This project will investigate three opportunity gaps: (i) replacement of 20% of national grain crops with pulses and legumes rotations to establish a net zero farming pathway, (ii) the nutritional and financial feasibility of replacing feed grains (currently representing 70% of the UK grain market) with legumes in 30% national livestock feed and (iii) create a market for this additional yield.

The proposed system outputs would contribute to UK Net Zero goals with a total potential reduction of 1.5MT CO2e p/a of the maximum potential 2.8MT for UK agriculture (Defra Agri Climate Report, 2021) in the following ways.

* Removal of 233,000T of nitrogen fertiliser and 0.55MT (CO2e) - a 1.2% national reduction - by increasing pulse and legume cropping areas to the rotational optimum of 20% (1M Ha) across UK farms.
* Use of subsequent produce in animal feed substitution (replacing 50% of imported soya meal) delivering a further 0.7MT CO2e reduction.
* Delivery of a residual N benefit to following crops, leading to an additional 0.25MT CO2e (0.5%).
* Delivering a national cost saving to farming of £1032M p/a, by removing 20% of N fertiliser across UK growers and 1.8MT soya imports respectively from the UK farming supply chain.
* A policy tool that leads to the adoption of more measures and cost-effective solutions for reducing agricultural GHGs that fit with the farm business' (source: Defra Agri-Climate Report, October 2021).
* A set of farmer and grower case studies that can be used to educate and inform the national farming community of the environmental and financial benefits of the research solution.

We propose a technologically and financially accessible system for farmers/growers to achieve 100% uptake of a nationally resilient and sustainable food system. Secondary benefits will be the reduction of carbon footprint associated with the domestic replacement of 1.8MT of soya imports p/a.