A stud proprietor who’s channelling his engineering background and “hate” of waste into saving cash and sustainability has highlighted how greener practices could make good enterprise sense.
Peter Hockenhull, of Shade Oak Stud in Shropshire, options on a brand new video produced by the Thoroughbred Breeders’ Affiliation (TBA) that outlines the advantages of greener practices on stud farms.
Though every equestrian’s set-up is completely different, there are ideas that may apply to any type of yard. For instance, analyzing use of sources, contemplating land administration practices, scrutinising vitality utilization and eager about incremental adjustments.
“I don’t see a battle between taking care of horses and being sustainable,” stated Mr Hockenhull, who studied engineering at college and now runs the 200-acre stud along with his spouse, Emma.
“I hate waste of any type – waste of manpower, waste of supplies; any type of waste drives me to be extra environment friendly and higher.”
By way of the land, he has analysed his subject administration to search out methods of lowering the necessity for costly nitrogen fertiliser and enhance pasture high quality, and has planted greater than 10km of hedgerows.
“[Putting in hedgerows] was primarily to make sure the protection and wellbeing of the horses,” he stated. “The hedges had been established as a result of I discover it essentially the most financial means. The biodiversity has been the advantage of it – that got here as a secondary to me, and I get pleasure from that facet of it, but it surely was primarily for the wellbeing of the horses that I’ve ended up with 16km of hedges.”
The farm additionally has photo voltaic panels, a wind turbine and a biomass boiler. Mr Hockenhull stated he’s taking a look at batteries as his subsequent choice, which might allow him to retailer electrical energy created on web site and attain “web zero” when it comes to importing electrical energy from the grid.
The TBA launched a carbon calculator in 2023, in partnership with agricultural and environmental consultancy ADAS and with the help of the Racing Basis. Shade Oak Stud is among the many “rising quantity” of stud farms which have used it to assist look at their use of sources and the place focused adjustments could assist save vitality prices and minimize carbon emissions.
TBA equine well being and welfare supervisor Victoria Murrell stated: “Making a carbon footprint isn’t nearly being extra environmentally pleasant, it’s additionally about reviewing using sources throughout the farm and figuring out areas to economize.”
She instructed H&H Shade Oak Stud is a “actually good instance” of this.
“Mr Hockenhull has an actual inquiring thoughts – he’s looking for options,” she stated. “And in that endeavor to economize and make issues extra environment friendly, he’s additionally doing issues which can be higher for the setting.
“We don’t thoughts what drivers persons are utilizing to inspire themselves, but it surely’s about good outcomes.”
She echoed Mr Hockenhull’s level that doing the best factor for horses’ wellbeing is the precedence – however that may go hand-in-hand with sustainability.
“You are able to do what’s proper for the animals, however which may even be environmentally pleasant – and you may also do what’s proper by the setting, and or not it’s purse-friendly,” she stated, including that outcomes from the carbon calculator present emissions sizzling spots fluctuate significantly from stud to stud, owing to completely different enterprise set-ups.
“What works for one stud farm may not work for an additional. It’s about wanting on the strengths and the challenges of that specific property, and the way do you’re employed with that to optimise what you’ve bought.”
Ms Murrell added that information from the carbon calculator can also be serving to on a wider scale. She defined that the TBA represents breeders at authorities stage and the calculator provides high quality information to spotlight challenges and alternatives.
The TBA can also be near having the ability to give anonymised “benchmarking” data, which can allow operations of comparable location or dimension to grasp how their footprint compares.
Ruth Dancer, director at White Griffin Equine Environmental Specialists, stated: “The race is on for folks to make adjustments rapidly and successfully, with a purpose to each adapt to local weather change on their farms and help the worldwide effort to scale back our collective influence on the setting.”
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