Duncan Williams

Combat Climate Change. All views own.

[Duncan Williams @DuncanW44]

@ccivanovich @EnvDefenseFund @ilissaocko @Tianyi_Sun_ Thanks for a really interesting paper. Do you think setting the base year earlier would have dramatically changed the conclusions? Trying to understand the methane flux particularly. Thought being that erasing previous temp increase == preventing future ones?

[Duncan Williams @DuncanW44]

@JoeWStanley @FarmersWeekly @FWphilclarke I thought the ‘better cotton initiative’ in the USA follows this method so there might be at least one way round it, though not my area at all. Levy on all sales regardless on country of origin with proceeds directed predominately to home country.

[Duncan Williams @DuncanW44]

@waiterich Hi Richard. Where did this graph come from? It looks like an IPCC style but can’t find it.

[Duncan Williams @DuncanW44]

@cutlerstom Geeky q. Re: the maths underlying this, by charging CC to spring cropping but ignoring soil health 'balance sheet gain' haven't you designed the spreadsheet to make it look worse than it is? It's tricky cause short-term cash position is tangible but perhaps overly simplified?

[Navaratnam Partheeban🐄🐂🐑 @navaratnampart1]

Really looking forward to joining a panel with @DrDowhittle and @Botanygeek at 8.40am on @BBCRadio4 to discuss the future of farming for @herdyshepherd1 takeover of the Today programme tomorrow @bveds2016 https://t.co/PG48Zv2iEH

[Duncan Williams @DuncanW44]

Both these threads are brilliant. Super interesting conversations to be had.

[spencer 🦈 @Unpop_Science]

This is a good data brief on palm oil, but as usual, I have a lot to add.

I usually say this about emissions, but in this case, land use is only one part of the story.

A thread about some other factors to consider:

[Duncan Williams @DuncanW44]

@andycramp2 @herdyshepherd1 I think it's all connected. Corporates creating plant milks because they realise they can cut out farmers, is the same type of 'market rationalisation' that within the dairy industry gives us consolidation. Need small local suppliers. Bet there's plenty around you in Cumbria.

[Duncan Williams @DuncanW44]

@herdyshepherd1 25% of UK dairy farms stopped milking in last 10 years. Glibally, ag power is being concentrated by large corporates. Yet OFC will debate 'the death of family farms is exaggerated'. We need to push back again Neo-Lib ideology.

[spencer 🦈 @Unpop_Science]

GWP* is for climate modeling. It is not scientifically appropriate to use it for an emissions assessment of a corporation, industry, or country. The meat and dairy industries are lobbying governments to do this because it downplays methane warming. It is greenwashing.

[Duncan Williams @DuncanW44]

@TheHillsCountry @herdyshepherd1 This is probably the easiest way to show it. Prices are from back in 2018 before everything went crazy but the principle remains true.

[Duncan Williams @DuncanW44]

@TheHillsCountry @herdyshepherd1 Soya meal use in feed is considered a primary driver of soya plantings (and so deforestation) as is over 60% of total value of soya bean. Looking at Kg consumption of oil vs meal not that useful. Hulls are <1% of value so irrelevant.

[Keith Brennan @HawHillFarm]

If you pay people so little for their food that they are forced to choose between the health if their land as and the future of their family. They will choose family and farm accordingly. If we wonder why industrual farming has become what is...

[Duncan Williams @DuncanW44]

@ClimateFramo @matthewhayek @JoeriRogelj Is the consensus how to apply gwp* on a smaller scale, eg individual business? None that I've seen have used cumulative co2, only single year, so use the benefits of ch4 degradation without the penalty of co2 accumulation. Haven't seen a published methodology.

[IisBig @IisBig1]

Picking/Packing - A Thread.

We've all seen the @Telegraph and the £30 an hour claim. This is bollocks! So here is a thread to give the reality a little bit of airing.

This applies as much to packing eggs as picking fruit/veg. So as you all know, I have plenty of experience here

[Duncan Williams @DuncanW44]

@ShmickDan @AggressiveSarc1 @GeorgeMonbiot No till maize and cover crops are still surprisingly rare here in UK. We are often faced with challenging springs, flooding and droughts, so think farmers a worried about messing up establishment. Harvest is challenging often as well.

[Duncan Williams @DuncanW44]

@jwbottomley @GeorgeMonbiot @DefraGovUK Agreed. AD distorts land rents, out competing all local farmers for good ground. Have no issue with small scale systems using waste, slurry etc, but putting '000s of acres into a single AD plant for questionable carbon savings doesn't feel right.

[Duncan Williams @DuncanW44]

@farmerdanb Best thing is to try and build a small clamp somewhere with 4 weeks worth so you can still get a proper fermentation on the main pile. Guess it's a bit late now. Definitely increased risk of clamp not fully stabilising. Good luck Dan.

[the Juice Media @thejuicemedia]

The Australien Government has made an ad about Carbon Capture and Storage, and it’s surprisingly honest and informative. #CCS

[Duncan Williams @DuncanW44]

@DairyYoda @HefinR @BakersofHP @mags2milkyway Yeah completely agree. We are fortunate that rape works so well in UK dairy diets, and i good that we've upped our focus on forage protein to get a bit more independent. Declining rape crop is not ideal.

[Duncan Williams @DuncanW44]

@BakersofHP @mags2milkyway Well sunflower yields 2x soya and rapeseed 2.5x soya in terms of kg oil/Ha/yr (wiki source so don't rely on it), but I imagine if you make soya less profitable and we convert acres to higher yielding crops = less land needed & more rainforest? Not sure.