It makes more sense economically for beef, sheep and tillage farmers to supply anaerobic digestion (AD) plants than it does for dairy farmers, Teagasc has said.

At the Renewables Roadshow event in Cork, Teagasc’s Barry Caslin outlined that it does not make financial sense for dairy farmers to supply grass to an AD plant, but it does for other farmers.

“If you go to a beef farmer or a sheep farmer and a lot of tillage farmers, they certainly will benefit from supplying those digesters,” he said.

On dairy and specifically supplying grass to AD plants, Caslin said it is more economically advantageous for dairy farmers to utilise their grass for their herd.

“Certainly, those dairy farmers will be doing an awful lot better dairying than supplying the grass into the digester. So, I don’t think you are going to see a lot of dairy farmers doing that,” he said.

In contrast, the opportunity for dairy farmers to export slurry to AD plants was also highlighted.