Good data key to stepping into carbon future
Records and data will become precious to graziers as the industry ramps up steps to achieve its target of being carbon neutral by 2030.
Toni Cottle, a Senior Extension Officer heading up the Department of Primary Industries’ Carbon Outreach Team said the data was important so primary producers had a starting point, and, importantly, documented evidence of their business and herd emissions.
The Department of Primary Industries (DPI) carbon outreach project is part of the Farm
Business Resilience Program which aims to help primary producers build productive,
profitable, drought and climate resilient businesses. The program is funded through the
Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund and the Queensland Government’s Drought
and Climate Adaptation Program.
Toni recently conducted workshops in Townsville for NQ Dry Tropics’ extension staff and at Pentland for local graziers with the aim of making them “carbon aware”.
Toni said in keeping with the 2015 Paris Agreement, industries across the breadth of the national economy had committed to carbon neutrality and primary production, including the red meat industry, was no exception.
She said although landholders and primary producers would be unlikely to be directly affected initially, being suppliers to meatworks and other food processors and retailers meant they would inevitably be asked to provide data.
She said it would be prudent for graziers to calculate the emissions for their enterprise starting with the total herd emissions before they were asked.
Bunuro graziers David and Donna Rankine, who had already done some research into carbon projects and emission reduction schemes, said they appreciated the clarity they gained in the workshop.
Toni said producers should have an open mind about opportunities like carbon projects and emission reduction schemes, but be very careful to carry out a proper due diligence on the benefits and possible pitfalls.
“The over-riding consideration is that it has to make sense to your core business,” she said.
“There is no benefit, for instance, in removing cattle from an enterprise that pays its way by growing beef.”
Ellimeek Station grazier Yvonne Schaefer said they were interested in the carbon space but had reservations about being a “guinea pig” as the first to sign up in the area.
She said it was disappointing there appeared to be little or no recognition of improved practices already implemented compared to enterprises that had done little to improve.
She said graziers should be not be frightened of the questions about emissions that might come their way.
“Basically, the decisions needed to achieve emissions reduction are the same decisions you would make to improve business efficiency, profitability and sustainability, she said.
The Grazing Enterprise Support and Training project and the Burdekin Productive Pastures project are designed to inform graziers of opportunities and developments in land, pasture and grazing management and provide assistance to implement practice changes.
Contact Callum Olver (e: callum.olver@nqdrytropics.com.au or p: 0467 203 082) or Kirra Williams (e: kirra.williams@nqdrytropics.com.au or p: (0467 553 872) for more information.
This workshop was funded by the Grazing Enterprise Support and Training (GEST) project, a part of the Grazing Practice Change Program funded through the Queensland Government’s Queensland Reef Water Quality Program. Complementing GEST is the Burdekin Productive Pastures project, supported by the Australian Government through funding from the National Heritage Trust under the Climate-Smart Agriculture Program.
