Carl Binning is Executive General Manager, Schemes Operations Division, Clean Energy Regulator. Carl farmed superfine wool near Yass in NSW and is a former member of the Australian Landcare Council and Chief Executive of Greening Australia. He has enjoyed a diverse career spanning primary industries, mining and natural resource management.
Australian farmers can increase income while tackling climate change
Carl Binning
As Australia’s climate becomes increasingly unpredictable, the agricultural sector is looking for ways to reduce its carbon footprint while diversifying income streams. Carbon farming and emissions reduction offer opportunities for Australian farmers to diversify their income and contribute to environmental sustainability.
As a superfine wool grower, I established trees belts to protect stock, particularly during lambing, and to manage salinity risks. Today I could also generate revenue by creating carbon credits from those trees.
Australian farmers understand and live with the impacts of a changing climate. A more variable climate with higher temperatures, changed rainfall, and increased risks of flooding and fire pose significant challenges to the sector.
It is somewhat ironic that carbon is viewed as a pollutant when thinking about climate change. In farming systems carbon is a key driver of plant and livestock productivity. All plants and animals depend upon and contain carbon. For this reason, building a strong understanding of and effectively managing the carbon cycle on farms is crucial.
Agriculture businesses contribute significantly to greenhouse gases: methane from livestock, nitrous oxide from fertilised soils, and carbon dioxide from deforestation and soil cultivation. In addition, using fossil fuels in farming equipment and processing also adds to emissions.
Agriculture also has the greatest potential to sequester carbon. The only proven low cost and scalable mechanism for drawing carbon out of the atmosphere is via the process of photosynthesis. Carbon is then stored in and cycled through plants, trees, and soils. Understanding the carbon cycle and developing strategies to build the carbon pool can both enhance productivity and provide opportunities to generate income through the creation of carbon credits.
According to the Climate Change Authority’s 2024 sector pathway review, land-based sequestration already reduces Australia’s emissions by more than 50 Mt CO2-e (megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent) per annum1.
At the same time, Australia's agricultural emissions – which account for 16 per cent of our total emissions (440.2 Mt CO2e)2 – are expected to remain steady over the next decade before declining towards the year 2050. Scaling up land-based sequestration, adopting new farm practices and technologies, alongside new low-emission technologies such as feed supplements, slow-release fertilisers, improved herd and pasture management, manure management, and renewable fuel-powered machinery, will facilitate this reduction.
Opportunities exist within Australian Government programs and schemes where farmers can earn carbon credits for implementing carbon farming and emissions reduction practices. Farmers can earn credits for each tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent that would have otherwise been released into the atmosphere. These credits can be sold on the carbon market to businesses and individuals seeking to offset their carbon emissions and can represent a significant new source of income, especially as more companies look to meet their carbon reduction targets. Australia is recognised as a global carbon market leader.
Strict guidelines and rigorous governance ensure that each tonne of sequestered carbon is genuine and scientifically accredited. Each sequestration method undergoes rigorous development and validation by an independent committee to ensure effectiveness.
Carbon farming also offers ancillary benefits such as improved water use, increased livestock production efficiency, financial diversification, and provides environmental advantages like shade for livestock and habitats for threatened species.
Carbon farming is not simple. Like any new business venture, whether involving cattle, sheep, or cropping, success requires thorough research and accessing good advice. Before getting into carbon farming, it is important to do the research and get the latest information.
A well-executed carbon strategy will create better and more profitable farms. It will also support more sustainable landscapes and rural communities. A poorly executed carbon strategy will increase complexity, create more paperwork and reduce profitability.
Farmers looking to engage in carbon initiatives should do so because those initiatives align with their land and farm business goals. Do your research and find out whether it’s right for you and your business because renewable energy implementation and carbon abatement on your farm can present win-win opportunities. By adopting these practices, you will not only be helping the environment, but you’ll also be securing the long-term viability of your operations in the face of climate change.
1 Climate Change Authority Sector Pathways Review – Agriculture and Land, 2024. Figure AL.2: CSIRO’s modelling projections of sources and sinks for agriculture and land sector for A50/G2, pg.16.
2 Australia's greenhouse gas emissions: March 2024 quarterly update.
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Trace minerals are required for optimal growth, reproduction, and immunity. Optimising trace mineral status relying solely on oral supplements across a herd may fail because of variation in individual intake and reduced absorption due to antagonism of other ration components and minerals. The use of injectable trace mineral supplements has been associated with positive reproductive outcomes including improved conception rate, increased odds of pregnancy and greater final in calf rate. A study conducted on 2,168 dairy cows, administered injectable trace minerals, four weeks prior to calving and again four weeks prior to the start of mating showed treated animals had a 3.3 per cent greater final in-calf rate, and a reduced time from start of mating to conception, compared to control animals 1 . The Importance of B12 Dr Carl Eden, Technical Services Veterinarian with Boehringer Ingelheim says “Vitamin B12 is sometimes referred to as a ‘super vitamin’ because it is only required in very small amounts but vital to many essential metabolic pathways. However, demand for B12 can vary considerably during the year and we see serum levels of B12 fall at critical times, such as the first few months after calving.” Vitamin B12 contains cobalt, so deficiency in cobalt can lead to deficiency in vitamin B12 because ruminants get most of their B12 as a byproduct of ruminal fermentation where the bacteria in their rumen assemble B12 from cobalt for use by the cow. Sub-optimal trace mineral and vitamin B12 status at calving, mating, and drying off has been shown to negatively impact growth, reproduction, and immunity. Using a trace mineral injectable containing vitamin B12 can improve trace mineral and vitamin B12 status at these critical times. Marks-Min with Vitamin B12 – The Evidence In the largest trace element study to date, Marks-Min Injectable Trace Mineral with Vitamin B12 demonstrated remarkable results when compared to a reference trace mineral injection. “Given the differences between Marks-Min and other products on the market, we wanted to generate a compelling data set to demonstrate how effective it was compared to the pioneer product. We entrusted this work to a third-party research company” says Dr Eden. “We chose farms that were at the top of their game from a reproductive perspective. We made sure that the farms had no evidence of trace element or vitamin B12 deficiencies or excess.” Across all outcomes of interest, Marks-Min demonstrated clear non-inferiority when compared to the reference product. Outcomes measured included submission, pregnancy and conception rates, and six week in-calf rate. Marks-Min demonstrated it is highly suited as an alternative treatment to the reference product. Reference: 1. Hawkins, D., and B. V. S. Franklin. New Zealand Dairy Veterinarians Newsletter 24 (2007): 12-16 Company website: livestockfirst.com.au Company email address: CustomerCare.Australia@boehringer-ingelheim.com Company video: https://vimeo.com/1138807630?fl=pl&fe=cm
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