Last of four parts
The previous part is at thevoice.us/a-balance-dairy-farming-climate-change-animal-welfare
The public-owned BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation)’s series by Emily Kasriel asked amid polarised debate, how dairy farmers see the role of their industry in climate change, and finds a mixture of doubt, denial, and commitment to change.
“How can we encourage a more constructive discussion with people who either deny anthropogenic climate change, or their own contributions to it? Lorraine Whitmarsh, director of the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformation at the University of Bath, points to the importance of understanding someone’s values and identity. Her research in the UK demonstrates the effectiveness of narratives emphasizing saving energy and reducing waste to reach people less concerned and more sceptical about climate change. Meanwhile, research led by Carla Jeffries of the University of Queensland, Australia, suggests that framing climate change action as showing consideration for others, or improving economic or technological development, can have more impact with climate deniers than focusing on avoiding climate risk. Whitmarsh tells me we are more likely to trust climate change messaging if it comes from someone within our own community.
“For Ben Davies, adapting the dairy industry to reduce its emissions is a top priority.
“Back on the farm, Hannah, who with brother Philip own the farm in Shopshire, England, receives a call from Philip, who wants to introduce me to his youngest brother, Peter (Ben’s father), owns 220 cows, the other half of the original family herd. Given that Philip is convinced the Earth is not heating up and he’s keen that I meet his brother, I anticipate that I’ll hear a similar perspective. But that’s not quite the case.
‘“There’s a definite change in the climate, and it’s making our job a lot harder,’ Peter Davies said.
“Hannah and I sit at a table in Peter’s lovingly tended garden at the edge of his fields, alongside his son Ben, 29, who works full-time with him on the farm.
‘”There’s a definite change in the climate, and it’s making our job a lot harder,” said Peter. His son, Ben, agrees that the weather is getting hotter and more extreme. ‘Being in the country, outdoors all day, you notice things more,’ said Ben. ‘You see the change in weather patterns and with the rivers, you can see flooding and damage and what’s it doing.’
“Father and son lead us ‘round the back of the garden to the huge steel and concrete shed they have built to house the cows in separate cubicles, alongside a steel fibreglass tower that stores manure. The cows spend all Winter in the shed on rubber mats, and the manure flows down with gravity into a channel. The manure then gets pumped into the tower, where it is ready to be injected into the soil as fertiliser in Spring and late Summer. Using this stored manure means there is less need for synthetic fertilisers, reducing costs as well as the carbon footprint of fertilising the fields. Injecting manure in this way reduces emissions of ammonia, which can damage ecosystems and break down into nitrous oxides (a greenhouse gas).
“Before moving to this system, the cows were kept on hay and mucked out every three weeks. “This new cubicle system, it’s a lot less work, with far less waste,” Ben said.
‘“I think there is a strong need for more action, we are going too slowly ‘ Ben Davies
“I have a sense from Peter and Ben that rather than feeling like victims of the changing climate, their understanding of the bigger picture has given them a sense of agency, a desire to adapt and a willingness to take risks to do so. Peter, spurred on by Ben, has recently made these significant investments, amounting to some £400,000 ($530,000), to make their farm more efficient and reduce its climate and environmental impact. “Ben is the driving force,” Peter said. “It’s people between 25-35 years old, in their prime. You need to let them get on with it when they are at their most persuasive.’
“I’m curious about how Ben came to have these insights into climate change and learn about the adaptations needed to reduce the farm’s methane and carbon footprint. ‘I learned on the internet. I’m self-taught, and then I taught it to others in the pub,’ Ben replied.
“More than just reducing his own footprint, Ben is in favour of larger policy changes, such as farms needing to meet environmental targets before they are allowed to expand. “I think there is a strong need for more action, we are going too slowly,” he said. Peter agreed: ‘We’ve got to change.’
“Ben Davies and his father, Peter, have invested substantial sums in emissions-reducing technologies on their farm.
“Among this small group of Shropshire farmers, the views on dairy and climate cover much of the spectrum of debate. So how do they make sense of each others’ differing views on climate?
‘”My uncle Philip is one of the old generation,” Ben said. “He will be retiring soon. I don’t think you can win over people. It’s more about our generation making an impact.’
“Given his knowledge and commitment to reducing climate change, how does Ben respond to critics who argue that we may have to stop eating meat and dairy entirely to make a significant dent in emissions? He paused. ‘I think it’s a small minority, who are trying to ruin our future and a business that our family has tried to develop over 100 years. Come to my farm and have a look,” he said. ‘I can show you what we are doing to reduce our emissions footprint, and all the infrastructure we are investing so heavily in.’
“When it’s time to leave, I ask Hannah if hearing from Peter and Ben has changed her perspective. She harbours dreams of renting her own dairy farm with a small herd and setting up an ice cream business. If she is able to realise her ambitions, would she take steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
“’I suppose you would have to see the figures, but if we could catch the rainwater to wash the milking parlours and got wind turbines and solar panels to supply electricity, it wouldn’t affect us farmers,’ she said. “If there was a way to do our bit and our country did start making steps to improve our emissions, maybe other countries would follow.’ But her doubts seem to catch up with her quickly. ‘But maybe Philip is right? We don’t know who is right and wrong, we don’t know the facts.”
“Where Hannah remains unsure about dairy farming’s climate impact, there is another certainty that she will always come back to: her guiding principle.
“’Cows are the most important thing. That’s the way I look at it. As long as the cows are happy, we are happy,’ Hannah said and Kasriel wrote.
The BBC’s Emily Kasriel is a practitioner in residence at the London School of Economics’ Marshall Institute, focusing on deep listening.