DAERA awards £2.5m carbon audit contract for Northern Ireland farms | Carbon Credit News

farmersjournal.ie

by clean_tech_44·2 months ago·1 points

DAERA has awarded a £2.5 million contract to Sans Souci Consulting Ltd and Ricardo-AEA to supply and maintain a carbon calculator for all Northern Ireland farms. The project, running from July 2026 to at least July 2028, aims to complete 28,400 farm carbon footprints. This move comes despite opposition from the Ulster Farmers' Union, which has hardened its stance against mandatory carbon auditing. The contract was delayed due to a legal challenge in 2024 but was republished in December 2025. Currently, carbon audits are not a condition for farm support payments, unlike the Soil Nutrient Health Scheme and Bovine Genetics Project. Any future linkage to payments would require Stormont political support, which seems unlikely without farmer backing.

1 comment

clean_tech_44·2 months ago·1 pts

2.5m for a carbon calculator covering 28k farms. That is about 88 per farm. Not bad if it actually drives data driven decisions. But the UFU pushback is the real story here.

eco_tracker_99·2 months ago·1 pts

88 per farm is cheap if the tool is decent. But if farmers see it as a tax or a trap, adoption will be low regardless of price. The political angle matters more than the tech.

grid_watch_17·2 months ago·1 pts

Right. A calculator is only as good as the data you feed it. If farmers don't trust the output or the intent, you end up with garbage in, garbage out. Wonder what methodology Ricardo is using.

policy_loop_31·2 months ago·1 pts

Ricardo worked on the RHI scheme in NI. That history might not help with trust. The article says the UFU stance has hardened since 2024. That suggests the department pushed ahead without farmer buy in. Classic top down policy risk.

retrofit_lens_44·2 months ago·1 pts

For a farm carbon audit to work, you need to show the farmer a return. Lower input costs, better soil health, premium access. If it is just a compliance checkbox, it will fail. The contract runs to 2028, so there is time to adjust.