Farmer perceptions of the benefits and barriers to ammonia mitigation measures

Agriculture is the dominant source of ammonia emission in the UK. Ammonia emissions arise from livestock manures and from the application to land of some manufactured fertilisers. Mitigation measures have been developed, for example, by reducing the exposure of manures to air, or filtering air emitted from livestock buildings. However, reducing air pollution from agriculture remains challenging. This research aimed to explore farmers perceptions of the benefits and barriers of adopting ammonia mitigation measures. This is an essential step toward increasing uptake and reducing agricultural ammonia emissions. To provide a comprehensive industry perspective, stakeholder views were also gathered. The study focussed on the housed dairy, pig and poultry sectors. The research was delivered through an online survey and focus groups with farmers from the dairy, pig and poultry sectors. Farmers from other sectors such as beef and arable who used manures were also invited to share their views. One-to-one interviews were carried out with industry stakeholders who represented a range of sectors. The research took place from March 2022 until May 2023. Farmer participants were self-selected, and selection bias was minimised by recruiting via well-known farming stakeholder organisations, to ensure good representation across sectors and devolved administrations. The study found farmers were interested to understand how to mitigate ammonia emission from their farms and reduce their environmental impact. Farmers predominantly favoured mitigation measures aimed at reducing emissions from housing, such as amending diet or extending the grazing season, while those involving technologies, such as air scrubbers, or those relating to slurry storage were perceived as less suitable. The main barriers to the adoption of mitigation measures were a lack of knowledge and cost. All mitigation measures will incur some cost to the farmer, but measures often build on familiar practices, such as extending the grazing season, or increasing bedding material in housing. Enhancing familiar practices can reduce the barriers to uptake. It is important to highlight the benefits for the farmers and their livestock, such as reduced manufactured fertiliser use, or better animal welfare. Greater clarity on benefits is essential. Most participants were from the cattle sector, which may have influenced the types of benefits and barriers identified. Gaining responses from farmers through an online survey was difficult, likely due to the time demands of the sector. Most survey respondents were in England. Farmers predominantly favoured housing mitigation measures, while measures involving technologies were perceived as less suitable. The research highlighted that the main barriers to the adoption of mitigation measures are a lack of knowledge and high costs. If the UK is to reduce overall ammonia emissions, it is important that future policy addresses the identified barriers and emphasises the environmental and business benefits for farmers to implement ammonia mitigation measures. This project was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) AIM-HEALTH programme.