To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs for his assessment of the merits of introducing fully funded carbon audit from farms and small holdings across Northern Ireland.

It essential that farmers and land managers have the baseline information and understand that information, so that they can meet whatever future obligations will be. My Department is developing plans aimed at baselining soil nutrient levels and carrying out research to estimate the carbon stocks stored in grasslands soils and above ground biomass across Northern Ireland’s farmed landscape.