Monday, February 28th: Bord Bia has updated the Farm Sustainability Survey to make it more user-friendly for farmers. As part of the audit process, farmers must complete a sustainability survey, in which they report on farm management activity. Changes to the survey include an expanded list of fertiliser options and a condensed section on housing and turnout.
All farmers audited after March 8th, as part of the sustainable beef, lamb, and dairy assurance schemes, will complete the new version of the survey.
Dr. Eleanor Murphy, Sustainability Data and Analytics Manager with Bord Bia commented: “As well as making the process of completing the survey more streamlined, the new survey will capture more precise data leading to more accurate reporting, reflective of what’s happening on-farm. When completing the survey, it is important that the information provided is accurate and complete to obtain a correct carbon footprint and grass-fed calculation.”
The sustainability survey is used in conjunction with data from AIMs, ICBF (for beef farms), and milk production data (for dairy farms), to calculate each individual farm’s carbon footprint and grass-fed calculation, and to generate a Farmer Feedback Report. The Farmer Feedback Report provides farmers with their farm’s carbon footprint as well as an assessment of farm productivity, nutrient management, grassland management, and farm safety.
The sustainability survey questions cover a range of topics from animal grazing to energy and water use and takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. The survey should be completed before the audit using the online portal at farm.bordbia.ie. The online version is now more intuitive with improved functionality. Alternatively, farmers can contact the Bord Bia Helpdesk on (01) 524 0410 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 8pm) to complete over the phone.