Key definitions

Carbon Farming agricultural practices aimed at capturing and storing carbon in soils and vegetation, and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Carbon Accounting involves measuring and managing carbon emissions from farming activities. It helps farmers understand their carbon footprint, and track improvements over time.

Emissions Intensity is a measure of the amount of GHGs emitted per unit of agricultural output (eg per ton of grain or livestock product). Lowering emissions intensity means producing more with fewer emissions.

Greenhouse gas emissions on Mallee farms these are made up of carbon dioxide (from diesel and other inputs), nitrous oxide (mainly from nitrogenous fertilisers) and methane (primarily CO2 from livestock).

Relevance to Mallee Farmers

Evolving market expectations – buyers of agricultural products are increasingly seeking products with low emissions intensity to meet their own emissions reduction targets.
Farmers may, in future, face regulations requiring them to account for and reduce emissions.
Reducing emissions or emissions intensity can also improving profitability: for example, soil amelioration can lead to more grain from the same inputs, improving profitability as well as reducing emissions per unit of grain produced.
The Australian Government has developed methods to allow farmers to generate and sell carbon credits. Two methods are broadly relevant to the Mallee: a soil carbon method, and a method recognising sequestration in trees. However, very few projects have yet been registered in the Mallee.

Actions you can take

Do Now (win-wins!)

Minimum tillage, maintain soil cover, protect or build soil carbon stocks.
Optimise fertiliser use efficiency, particularly of nitrogen fertilisers, which are source of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas.
Improve soils – anything you do to overcome soil constraints is likely to improve not just productivity but also emissions performance.
With livestock, optimise weaning rates and growth rates.
Renewable energy – install solar to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
‘Know your number’ – use a GHG calculator to work out your emissions intensities for grain and livestock production, track progress, scenario planning.