7 November 2024

2 minute read

By: Global Ag Media

Europe

FrieslandCampina has launched a 10-year project to store carbon in grassland, according to a company-issued press release. This project was recently approved by the National Carbon Market Foundation (SNK). FrieslandCampina is collaborating with 20 member dairy farmers who together manage 780 hectares of permanent grassland. The SNK has issued validated certificates to FrieslandCampina. This is the largest project in the Netherlands aimed at carbon sequestration in permanent grassland on mineral agricultural soils.

Carbon sequestration is the process of storing carbon from the atmosphere in the soil. By maintaining grassland, dairy farmers can help store carbon in the soil. This reduces the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere, thereby contributing to the fight against climate change and making the dairy chain more sustainable.

FrieslandCampina expects the dairy farms involved in the project to store a total of 1,755 tonnes of CO₂ per year. Over the entire 10-year period, this amounts to a reduction of 17.5 kilotonnes of CO₂. Participants will receive compensation based on the amount of CO₂ they sequester in the soil. For the duration of the project, the participating plots cannot be ploughed or tilled.

"Carbon sequestration is very much on topic among dairy farmers and also among commercial parties," said Sanne Griffioen, Director Farm Sustainability at FrieslandCampina. "It offers opportunities to make the dairy chain more sustainable and creates value for our sustainability efforts."

"However, we also see that carbon sequestration is challenging to implement in practice," she said. "It is a lengthy process, the capacity of soils to store carbon varies widely, and measuring soil carbon sequestration is complex, Together with member dairy farmers and the SNK, we have laid a good foundation that will create real long-term value. It is a significant step that we can all be proud of!"

SNK certifies projects in the Netherlands that contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Organisations that voluntarily take initiatives to reduce emissions, such as FrieslandCampina, receive certificates from the SNK. These certificates prove that the emission reductions are real and have been verified by independent experts.