Livestock Farming, Water Usage, Feed Imports, Peatland Emissions, and Related Agricultural Policies: EIR release

Information requested

1. Water Usage:

a. Is there any available data on water usage by livestock farming in Fife, including direct water consumption by animals and water use for animal feed crop irrigation?

2. Feed Imports:

a. Could you provide a more detailed breakdown of the types of animal feed imported into Scotland, particularly in relation to the deforestation impact of soy imports?

3. Environmental Impact Reports:

a. Are there any localized environmental impact assessments specificallyaddressing livestock farming in Fife (e.g., soil degradation, biodiversity loss, water pollution)?

b. Are there any recent studies on the impact of manure management or methane emissions from Fife’s farms?

4. Farm Policies and Incentives:

a. Could you provide further details on the agricultural policies or incentives that support the continuation of livestock farming in Fife?

b. Please provide the amount of financial incentives paid out to livestock farming in Fife and across Scotland in recent years.

5. Animal Feed Production and Usage:

a. The total quantity of unmilled cereals (such as wheat, barley, maize, oats, etc.) used for feeding livestock (including cattle, sheep, poultry, and pigs) in the UK over the past five years.

b. A breakdown by cereal type (e.g., wheat, barley, oats) and how they are usedin animal feed (either directly or processed).

c. Information on whether unmilled cereals are commonly used in different farming systems (e.g., conventional vs. organic, intensive vs. extensive) for feeding livestock.

d. Data on the proportion of total cereal production in the UK that is used as unmilled cereals in animal feed compared to cereals processed for animal feed or human consumption.

e. The total quantity of animal feed produced in the UK, with a breakdown by:

1. Scotland
2. England
3. Wales
4. Northern Ireland

6. The proportion of UK-grown feed (both unmilled cereals and processed feeds) that is specifically used in Fife, Scotland, over the past five years.

7. Meat Imports:

a. The total quantity of meat imported into Scotland, broken down by:

• Imports from other regions within the UK (i.e., England, Wales, Northern Ireland).
• Imports from outside the UK, categorized by country of origin.

b. The total quantity of meat imported into Fife, broken down in the same categories:

• Imports from other regions within Scotland.
• Imports from outside Scotland, further divided into: UK Imports from England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• International imports from outside the UK, categorized by country of origin.

c. Please provide these data for the past five years, including a breakdown by meat type (e.g., beef, lamb, poultry, pork). If possible, include both weight (tonnes) and monetary value.

8. Peatland in Fife:

a. What is the total area of peatland in Fife, and how much of it has been drained or degraded for agricultural purposes?

b. Please provide data on how much of this drained peatland is specifically used for livestock grazing and animal feed crop production.

c. Of the peatland emissions (21.5 kt CO₂e) attributed to Fife, what proportion is directly linked to agricultural activities?

d. Please provide a breakdown of emissions caused by livestock grazing versus other land uses (e.g., forestry, infrastructure development, crop production).

e. Has there been any land-use change in Fife’s peatlands over the past decade, particularly related to converting peatlands to pasture or cropland for animal farming?

f. What is the current policy or strategy in place regarding the management of peatlands in Fife that are used for agriculture, particularly for animal farming?

Response

As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exception at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exception is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

I have included copies of the information you have requested in the attached Annex B.

On reviewing materials within scope of your request, some exceptions have been applied in line with the EIRs. You can find information on the exceptions that have been applied to information in the
attached Annex A.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

EIR - 202400435112 - Information released - Annex A & Annex B

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