Carbon farming Online tool and Handbook may alleviate the confusion

Termed as an easy-to-use online tool that steps users through a series of questions to determine a carbon project for each farm

Participation in the carbon market is already occurring on some farms as a means of creating an additional income stream but many farmers simply haven’t been given enough information – may be a newly released Handbook can help

Being able to tap into the supposed benefits that carbon farming offers for farm operations is very perplexing, but according to one agricultural research organisation what they have developed is the solution for many.

From the outset, this unique online decision tool helps farmers make an informed choice about whether to even bother taking up carbon farming.

Executive Director of the Australian Farm Institute (AFI), which developed the resource, Richard Heath explains, “As options to engage in new carbon markets have grown, a “confusopoly” has developed, with many primary producers unsure if the perceived cost of participation is higher than the return.

The Handbook explains the soil carbon cycle and how carbon from the atmosphere ends up in the soil. The numbers in brackets represent gigatonnes (GT) of carbon stock, and the arrows show GT fluxes per year

“In speaking at a lot of events, and to lots of farmers, the clear message that we get is confusion about the number of carbon opportunities being presented and farmers’ ability to weigh them up against each other.

“That has been complicated by the speed of evolution of policy in this area that can very rapidly make an opportunity more or less attractive, which then affects investment, the requirements of the project and a range of other factors.

“It’s just such a fluid environment when they need clear and concise information about what the real opportunities are,” Richard adds.

Australian Farm Institute Research and Communications Officer Teresa Fox is shown here demonstrating the Carbon Opportunity Decision Support Tool to an interested farmer

Carbon decision support tool

In response, AFI interviewed stakeholders across the carbon landscape, from banks, academics and regulators to primary producers, farm advisors and peak bodies.

“The primary objective of this project was to create a decision tool to help producers decide what, if any, is the best opportunity for a particular farm business in relation to carbon,” Richard continued.

The result is the Carbon Opportunity Decision Support Tool (CODST), that guides users through a series of questions to identify a project best suited to their business, risk appetite and personality.

The Handbook explains how excess carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere causes the carbon cycle to be out of balance and a key reason our climate is heating up

Along the way, there are links to stories about farmers who’ve put the various methods into practice, contacts for advisors and experts, and helpful resources such as AgriFutures Australia’s “A farmer’s handbook to on-farm carbon management”.

“There’s a lot of evidence that the success of a business model really depends on the alignment of skills and personality with the business model,” Richard adds.

“We wanted to make sure that the particular path you ended up going down was aligned to those characteristics.”

Take a look at the Online tool and it will most likely determine whether carbon farming has a place within your farm operation

The biggest benefit gained

Richard Heath said one of the most important outcomes for primary producers in carbon farming is not the carbon credits they can create but the productivity gains that can be achieved.

“It’s actually the primary benefit and that’s what we want to make clear,” Richard oulined.

“There’s quite a deal of research now that shows very clearly the economic benefit is far greater in terms of productivity improvement than you might make from the potential alternative revenue stream from sequestering carbon.

“It gives you a more resilient farming system, better yields, more water retention, all of those agronomic factors that lead to greater productivity and profitability,” Richard concluded.

AFI plans to continually improve and refresh the CODST to ensure it keeps pace with new technology and the changing regulatory environment and is exploring its potential for use on other emerging opportunities, such as biodiversity credits.