QMS reflects on first year of pioneering Environment Baselining Pilot
Bruce McConachie, Head of Industry Development at QMS, said: “This pilot is an exciting step forward in helping farmers demonstrate the positive impact of their systems on the environment. By collecting accurate on-farm data, we can start to quantify the contribution Scottish farming businesses make to carbon sequestration and net zero goals, and support farmers in being recognised for their environmental work.”
Last year, AHDB, with support from QMS, launched the Environment Baselining Pilot to tackle the challenge of measuring the true environmental benefits of farming systems, particularly in the absence of detailed on-farm data. The project is gathering data on 170 farms representing British agriculture, including 35 in Scotland, of which, 22 are beef, lamb and pork, the rest being more focussed on dairy or arable production. On the anniversary of that launch, it’s a good moment to review progress and look ahead to the next stages of the project.
Setting the baseline
The pilot’s baseline measurements are just the start – providing a reference point from which we can track changes in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and carbon stocks over time. This work will continue to expand, collecting more data and evidence, particularly to support conversations about the importance of soil carbon and carbon removals/sequestration.
The removals part of net zero
A significant portion of the project budget is focused on measuring carbon stocks – both above ground in trees and hedges, and below ground in roots and soil.
The aim is to understand how much carbon is already stored on farms, identify which farming practices align with high carbon stocks, and estimate the potential benefits if such practices were more widely adopted. By measuring now and re-measuring at the end of the five-year project, we will be able to quantify improvements, report them, and recognise farmers’ efforts.
The first on-farm work began at the end of 2024 with aerial LiDAR (light detection and ranging) scanning to measure above-ground carbon in trees and hedges, as well as mapping water and nutrient run-off risks. Conducting the scan in winter – when leaves were off the trees – was critical. Algorithms for converting scans into numbers are designed for leaf-off conditions, and this timing also allows for more accurate assessment of woody biomass, ground levels beneath trees, and potential water run-off.
Scanning all participating farms in winter presented logistical challenges, including finding suitable flying conditions and the dispersed locations of the farms across the British Isles. Despite this, all but two farms were scanned, with the remaining sites scheduled for completion later in 2025.
Carbon audits
To complement the LiDAR data, all baselining farms are undergoing an Agrecalc carbon audit. While carbon calculators have limitations – results can vary based on assumptions, and current audits rely on international (tier 1) and national (tier 2) averages rather than farm-specific data (tier 3) – the audits provide a useful overview.
Audits include results based on two global warming potential (GWP) measures, GWP100 and GWP*, highlighting variations in methane reporting methodologies.
Learnings to date
The past year has seen significant progress, but as a pilot, the project’s purpose is also to identify challenges, such as data gaps or crude reporting that may not fully reflect the work already underway on farms.
Producing the LiDAR farm reports has taken longer than expected, as accuracy and farmer-friendly presentation are priorities. These reports are due by the end of October 2025.
Soil carbon testing has also presented challenges, particularly scheduling access to fields around fertiliser applications, drilling, and harvest periods. AgriCarbon is working with farmers to navigate these constraints, and to date, 54% of farms have been soil sampled.
What’s next?
Farmers will first receive their carbon audit results and then develop and agree an action plan, but the LiDAR scans and soil testing provide compelling visuals that bring the data to life.
The pilot aims to inform what a national environmental baseline could deliver, measuring outcomes at farm level rather than relying on averages. This approach ensures the positive work farmers are already doing is accurately recognised and potentially incentivised, while also helping determine how a national baseline could be implemented more affordably.
Several other organisations have expressed interest in the pilot, and QMS and AHDB are beginning to share protocols, which will be made public in due course. The first set of results are planned to be discussed later this autumn, providing evidence to support the industry’s journey towards net zero.
As Bruce McConachie highlighted, the pilot is more than just a project – it is a movement to demonstrate how farmers deliver both food and environmental benefits simultaneously. It will show the true environmental impact of British agriculture, the scale and potential of natural carbon stocks and sequestration, and support informed action and debate about farming in Great Britain.
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