CarbonPositive

With support and funding from the Scottish Government, the CarbonPositive platform is gathering data on a range of activity areas including soil, woodland, water, and renewable energy. The platform will record and demonstrate the positive contribution made by Scottish farms in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, sequestering carbon and supporting natural capital.

Together with the James Hutton Institute, SEPA and Forest Research, SAOS is also collating data on carbon sequestration and natural capital to identify the level of environmental assets being managed on-farm at both a national and individual farm level.

The platform will provide the opportunity for the capture of renewable energy and work has already begun on a scoping phase to incorporate further natural capital activities and measures. These will include biodiversity and recreational value; the wellbeing achieved through access to the countryside.

The livestock element of CarbonPositive has evolved into a separate programme called the Livestock Performance Programme. We are collaborating with member co-op, ANM Group, on this work and a Performance Dashboard concept is currently being tested with Farm Profit Programme farmers. This programme will give livestock producers access to a tailored range of data from their herd, for example, calving interval and age at slaughter, and will assist in identifying areas where improved performance and environmental efficiency can be achieved.

CarbonPositive is:

• An industry platform that will credit farmers as custodians of the land
  
  
• A mechanism to celebrate the contribution farmers make and drive change at farm level
  
  
• An opportunity to educate and engage both farmers and the public in the role agriculture plays in meeting the
  climate change challenge.