When top farmers travel up to 8 hours to the Mary Valley on “Carbon Friday” the 13th of August, we knew the nationally recognised line-up of speakers presenting at the Kandanga Farm Store event had some valuable insights to share on the fast-developing space of “Natural Capital Management”.
Natural Capital includes the ecological assets that land managers are responsible for every day beyond traditional agricultural production assets (like cows & crops). Farmers & foresters, as responsible environmental stewards; manage native vegetation, native fauna, water & soil to balance a sustainable (or even better “Regenerative”) production system.
Most land managers will claim that their practices are looking after the environment and building ecology. So to prevent “greenwashing” and reward those who actually achieve measurable results, what are the indicators of a healthy system we should be looking at? Carbon captured in vegetation (trees) or soil are two accepted measures traded domestically in the form of ACCU’s (Australian Carbon Credit Units). In Queensland, a premium is paid for ACCU’s generated in a way that has additional benefits to a particular ecosystem, catchment, native animal or even community. Co-benefits accompanied ACCUs in the last round of the LRF on average traded at $47. This is a $30 premium above the standard ACCU price at that time.
As Graeme Hand, one of Australia’s top Regenerative Agriculture consultants pointed out on the day however, Carbon as a measure is often not as relevant in ascertaining a system’s regenerative benefits as something like perennial ground cover. If directly addressing a fluctuating climate, the small water cycle that creates moisture and climatic stability has a more direct effect than carbon dioxide.
Carbon has other issues that were discussed by speaker Anne Coote from Climate Friendly. Methods and costs for measuring soil carbon in particular make broad-scale industry acceptance slow. New soil methodologies are likely to change this equation in coming months.
In the case of speakers Dan & Emma-Jane Burnham from Burnham Grazing, Thangool it was found that changing their vegetation management practices and entering an agreement around vegetation carbon, not only resulted in a $350/ha payment this year directly from the LRF but also, somewhat unexpectantly, resulted in an almost 30% production increase from their cattle in that paddock (Gross Profit improvement Vs paddocks where scheduled regrowth management continued).
The figures stack up in the Burnham’s case because of the co-benefits payments made by the LRF. This begs the question; what if co-benefits are the main game, not Carbon. How do we identify and measure co-benefits using auditable systems that ensure the rigor and accountability needed to attract further ecological investment beyond the LRF?
Accounting For Nature’s (AFN) Adrian Ward spoke extensively on this relatively new concept.
“Environmental accounting allows us to compare the health and condition of all our reserves using a valid reference point for condition.”
A project’s Environmental Condition Score (Econd ®) is derived not from a single element as happens with carbon, but from a large number of data points using approved methodologies. These other methodologies will improve with technology, reducing the complexity for landholders, and their agents, to measure various ecological benefits “Beyond Carbon”. The whole system is delivered by accredited experts and then third party audited.
Approved as an advisor under the LRF (#34686), and currently undergoing AFN Expert accreditation training, Tim Scott from Bos Rural at the Kandanga Farm Store assists regenerative landowners in identifying and establishing baselines for Ecological Credits, and building a holistic management plan to capitalise the growing market for Natural Capital assets. Under the second round of the LRF, 100% funding is available for a short time to all landholder businesses through QRIDA to have this done (up to $10K).
For more information on Ecological Credit systems (including carbon) visit Kandanga Farm Store or see https://www.qrida.qld.gov.au/program/carbon-farming-advice-rebate-program
“Farm to Fork” events are held at Kandanga Farm Store, follow us on social media for updates or check the website.
