NI agriculture: Farmers aren’t trying to destroy the environment

As a farmer who has worked with scientists from the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), he will be one of hundreds attending open days at the facility in Hillsborough.

There, government scientists will demonstrate the cutting-edge research and latest developments to help farming transition to lower emissions.

As the director of Sustainable Agri-Food Sciences, Prof Elizabeth Magowan has been “blown away” by the science that will be on display.

And she added farmers are “hungry” for it.

“When farmers are armed with the information and an understanding of what their metrics are, they will make changes,” she said.

“And they have made very positive changes which actually have improved their productivity but more importantly, have improved air quality, water quality, improved their carbon footprint.

“I think farmers are really up for it because they know that to improve these things is their responsibility as the custodians of our land, but also for their future generations, because they know that these things need to be worked through to actually continue to produce food for our population as well.”