Building Capacity of Climate Carbon Knowledge in the Northern & Yorke Farming Community
About the Project
Methods and means in which to capture carbon in farming landscapes will be described in two processes; a public conference, A Climate of Opportunity in Agriculture delivered by Ag Excellence Alliance in August 2021 and a peer guided follow up to further explore the most pressing issues relating to Carbon that emerge from the forum, through appropriate methods (ie workshop, field day, soil pit etc).
Topics covered at the conference include tools for understanding methods for carbon trading, soil profiling and potential for carbon storage, industry targets and sustainability frameworks, novel markets and marketing, land management incorporating vegetation into farm landscape etc. An opportunity to submit preferences for follow up will be provided to the audience through the event evaluation using an App to collate in real-time. The highest-ranking issues will be taken to the Farming Systems network to further develop the concept for localised learning.
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Funder: Australian Government’s National Landcare Program
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Date: 2020 - 2022
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Project Lead: Emma McInerney
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Budget: $34,000
Further Information
Landholders in the Northern and Yorke region will be better positioned to make decisions relating to increasing soil carbon and identifying suitable markets or other targets in which to engage.
Many landholders are confused by carbon trading and don’t understand how they might engage with schemes that reward carbon storage in soils. There is general recognition that soil carbon depletion is occurring across agricultural enterprises which concerns farmers as it relates to soil health and productivity.
The conference in August will provide a broad range of speakers to highlight the ideas and concepts of farmers, researchers and markets for carbon amongst other solutions to address climatic challenges. The conference will collate preferences to inform follow up workshops on topics that participants believe will have the most impact.
The subsequent workshops will take place in two locations in the Northern and Yorke region with expertise sought to contribute theoretic or practical instruction to a group at a mutually suitable time (Feb-April 2021). They will be planned with trusted farmer networks for a better understanding of what the carbon economy has to offer and how they might engage in on-ground opportunities such as the ERF.
As a result, farmers will guide the most important aspects of learning relating to carbon and then encourage peers through farming systems networks to participate in local learning to gain confidence in decision making as it relates to carbon.
- To improve soil carbon and landholder understanding of the opportunities that exist for addressing carbon.
- Landholders and industry representatives will be broadly exposed to carbon opportunities through a conference setting, hearing from scientific experts and farming peers on adopted practices or novel thinking. Exposure to the latest thinking is designed to inspire attendees to seek further information and resources.
- The secondary workshop setting will further enhance skills and knowledge by targeting the topics that landholders see as most applicable or most in need of understanding better. This will provide a forum for training and detailed learning that would allow attendees to engage actively in a practice that promotes soil carbon.
