Learning about Growing Carbon on Farm Workshops
Sang Ravindran, Development Officer for Horticulture & Irrigated Agriculture DPIRD reports:
This week, the Low Carbon Futures team convened in Manjimup to engage in discussions surrounding carbon farming and related initiatives being undertaken by the department. Attended by local growers, industry representatives, and DPIRD employees, the event aimed to support and facilitate the transition to a low-carbon economy in regional WA, to build resilience against climate change.
Carbon farming involves activities that capture carbon in vegetation or soil, resulting in the production of tradeable carbon credits (ACCUs). It is worth noting that embarking on a carbon farming project requires extensive research, planning, feasibility studies, and an understanding of the relevant terminologies, as it is a significant investment of time and resources. At the workshop, attendees received valuable insights into the key steps involved in establishing a successful carbon farming project.
A summary of the process is detailed below.
Step 1: Consider the objective.
The first step is figuring out your why. Some of the reasons below may highlight why you are considering Carbon Farming on your land:
Alternate source of revenue through tradeable carbon credits (ACCUs).
Environmental stewardship with a passion for restoring the land and improving sustainability.
Concerned about climate change and want to improve soil health, reduce erosion and mitigate salinity.
Market access/consumer demand by responding to the market needs for carbon-neutral products.
Regulatory requirements such as pursuing a net zero emissions farming enterprise
Step 2: Determine if the economics are right for you.
There are multiple costs incurred at different stages of the project which are important to consider.
Planning and establishment costs which may need to include professional services fees eg agronomist and soil sampling.
Ongoing project costs such as reporting and auditing.
The cost of your time involved in managing the project.
Opportunity cost of land under Budget in your revenue! Through participating in the project, the number of ACCUs generated will differ depending on the type of methods used, location, soil type, and rainfall. It will also depend on what price an ACCU is worth in $$ when/if you choose to sell at that time.
Estimate the carbon potential of the land. There are several online tools and resources to help the landholder estimate the carbon sequestrations potential which include:
FullCAM https://www.dcceew.gov.au/climate-change/publications/full-carbon-accounting-model-fullcam
LOOC-C https://looc-c.farm/
Carbon Scout https://www.carbonscout.online/
FarmLab https://www.farmlab.com.au/
Step 3: Plan your project.
This is the more complex and time-consuming part of the project as it requires external collaboration with several providers. A very simple overview of some of the steps involved are:
Familiarise yourself with the language and acronyms and the legislative requirements.
Seek professional advice and read the resources from the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) and Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF).
Do baseline carbon calculations to work out your current emissions through calculators online (https://www.piccc.org.au/)
Understand the CER/ERF methods such as soil projects vs vegetation projects vs integrated farm management method (new in 2023).
Obtain necessary approvals (local government, Western Power, etc).
Prepare a land management strategy.
Register the project with the Clean Energy Regulator
Open an Australian National Registry of Emissions Units accounts to receive ACCUs.
A lot of thought and consideration needs to be put into applying for a carbon farming project but there are also plenty of valuable resources to give you a guiding hand along the way.