Carbon farming pastoral business case

The NT Department of Primary Industries has teamed with Queensland’s Department of Agriculture to run a project called Climate Clever Beef.

The aim is to determine whether there is a compelling business case for northern cattle producers to engage with the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI).

CFI is an opportunity to generate cashflow by reducing emissions or increasing carbon stocks, earning carbon credits from these changes and selling them to businesses who want to offset or counterbalance their own emissions.

The methods for measuring changes in emissions and carbon stocks are still developing. But when methods are available, engagement is expected to be low until it can be shown to make economic sense. This three year project aims to shortlist potential carbon farming options; determine the conditions that they would be commercially viable; and show how they could be integrated into a pastoral business.

The project will evaluate two broad options:

1.   Improving efficiency to reduce emissions from livestock; and

2.   Carbon sequestration

Improving efficiency

Increasing productivity is a big focus for businesses and for national food security. However, increased productivity generally means increased emissions.  To reduce emissions we will need to increase efficiency.

Breeder herd efficiency is low on large northern properties because it’s hard to get a handle on the individual breeding performance of each cow. By improving identification of poor breeders we can get rid of them and reduce emission per calf produced.

We can also improve breeder herd efficiency with improved nutrition, effective weaning, improved genetics and fertility, and better stocking rates.

Pastures in northern Australia are low in nutrition and it takes longer for cattle to reach slaughter weight. Improving live weight gain through supplementation, better genetics, or by putting young cattle on better pasture can reduce age at slaughter and life-time emissions.

Reduced stocking rates will reduce emissions, and if this improves land condition and nutrition for the remaining breeders, they become more productive as a result. Therefore, overall calf production could be maintain or even increased.

Carbon sequestration

Carbon sequestration can be achieved by reducing fire impacts or improving land condition.

Burning early in the dry season to reduce the extent and intensity of late dry season fires can increase carbon sequestration and reduce total emissions from fire. However, burning on pastoral properties is already relatively low, so increasing early dry season burning could actually increase total emissions. Also, intense late dry season fires are used to manage woody thickening that competes with pastures. The current recommendation is to burn late in the dry once every four years to reduce woody regrowth.

A better option may be to stop grazing poor and uneconomical country and apply a sequestration project to these areas.

Carbon can also be stored in soil. Theoretically, improving land condition should increase soil carbon, but the supporting science is light on. The project will investigate this relationship, including the effect of different grazing regimes.

For more information, click here.

Acknowledgements: Dionne Walsh, NT Dept. of Primary Industries & Fisheries.