Introducing Dr. Peter McGee - New confirmed Carbon Farming Conference presenter

Friday, August 31, 2012
Dr. Peter McGee, an esteemed academic from the University of Sydney, is the latest addition to the Carbon Farming Conference presenter’s lineup. 

Peter has a background is in grazing and soil conservation, as well as science. His research over the last 20 years has focused on restoration of severely degraded landscapes. His most recent research demonstrates how to reliably return organic carbon to soil: the solution requires the incorporation of specific microbes to soil. He has also researched the use of biological solutions to problems in agriculture: biocontrol of pests and pathogens, soil acidity and degradation of organic pollutants.

Click here to view Peter’s speaking topics at the upcoming Carbon Farming Conference.

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Finalised Carbon Farming Conference presenter - Dr. Brian Murphy

Thursday, August 30, 2012

We are excited to announce that Dr. Brian Murphy will appear as a presenter at the upcoming Carbon Farming Conference. 

Brian has worked in soil science for over 35 years with the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage and has published a range scientific papers and books. He has worked on soil carbon over the last 12 years and in that time he has collaborated with NSW DPI, CSIRO and the University of Sydney. 

Although recently retired Brian has continued to work on soil carbon, especially on aspects of measuring soil carbon, regional variation in soil carbon and the effects of land management on soil carbon levels. Click here to read more about Dr. Brian Murphy and our other esteemed presenters.


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Are the changes to the Carbon Trade good for farmers?

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

With Climate Change Minister Greg Combet's recent announcement that Australia will be scrapping its carbon tax agreement in favour of linking with the European Union's carbon trading schemes, a lot of farmers may be asking how this change will impact them.

Click here to download a fact sheet explaining how this ETS will work moving forward. We'd love to hear your thoughts on this, which you're welcome to leave in the comments section below. For more information, please contact us.


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Journey to a Carbon Credit - Making it work for you

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

BREAKING NEWS!

DINNER SPEAKER ANNOUNCED - THE HONOURABLE MP GREG HUNT

We are very pleased to announce that The Honourable Greg Hunt MP, Federal Member for Flinders and Shadow Minister for Climate Change, Environment and Heritage, has graciously agreed to speak at the dinner. His presentation, "Carbon Farming Initiative - the bipartisan view" will surely be a highlight of the event. 

BRAVE NEW WORLD HERE WE COME! TREE PLANTING "METH" IN PRACTICE

As we have reported, in order to take part in the Carbon Farming Initiative and earn "carbon credits", you need to follow an approved methodology. The first broadly applicable one is about planting a native forest. So, its time to get out in the paddock and "walk the talk".

We have been active ourselves on farm, dutifully gathering data points on some marginal land we have. We have chosen an area where we will be able to "join" some remnant native trees, of which the big ones stand tall and harbour our birds of prey. But, truth be told, they are few and far between. It will be nice to see many more of them, as well as other species.

We are no genius at GPS, nor the Government's "tools" they have so endearingly worked up for us all, so its hilarious as we navigate through all of this. Soon we will be experts!

Other steps required to put a project in: 
  1. We have our "registered offset entity" application in. 
  2. We are about to find out how much sequestration the Government estimates we"ll have, and we"ll get a "map" of the area. 
  3. Next steps - Application for a "project". More paperwork, but do-able. 
We also have our interim Australian Financial Services Licence which enables us to continue to talk about the Carbon Credits in a trading sense. Watch this space for next installment!

GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS

Having spent the last 7 years working to see the eventuality of farmers being paid fairly for the carbon they grow, it is now time to work on our business model - ways we can work together with farmers and groups.

The most widely available method at the moment is the tree planting method - as we wait for the soil carbon and others to come on board. We feel it"s a good way to 'put a toe in the water" and are backing that up by doing it ourselves! 

We will have two levels of involvement:
  1. We will calculate an estimate of the carbon you could sequester in the tree method. 
  2. If you decide you want to put a "project" in, we will offer a fee for service approach where Carbon Farmers of Australia will be the "authorised representative" and manage the paperwork and compliance, but YOU will keep your carbon right - which means when you get a Carbon credit issued you will be able to make the decisions about WHO to sell it to. 
We also happen to have about 35 years marketing experience, so we have plenty of ideas on how to market these. Trust me, if you had an ACCU at the moment, you"d be in big demand. 

More on that next newsletter, but please feel free to contact me if either of these are of interest. We are ready when you are. 

CONFERENCE UP DATE: CONFIRMED SPEAKERS INCLUDE...

I"ve got to admit that I love conference time! Sure, the stress of making it the "best ever" is always present, but so many great things seem to come out of the wood work! 

Lets talk "innovation" in soil carbon measurement, for instance. Did you see the piece on ABC News the other day? A couple of strong messages here. Things are happening in the measurement of soil carbon - as such, Terry McCosker will bring to the conference the latest data in this new "soil carbon mapping" exercise outlined in the ABC piece. How does it relate to "baselining" our soil carbon?

Not just Terry McCosker is on this job however - Our esteemed colleague Dr Brian Murphy will also be on hand to talk about how he cut through the challenges of measuring soil carbon for the Lachlan Market Based Instrument project - and how this method is now going through the "peer review" system so it can be considered for a "baseline" method as well. I've also invited Dr Jeff Baldock to hear how his work relates to the baselining for soil carbon. Fingers crossed on that one. I have one or two "cards up my sleeve" on this as well. 

If you know of anyone else with an innovation in soil carbon MEASUREMENT, please let me know! 

Another big point in the article is the wonderful, the amazing, the incredible (drum roll)...  100 year rule. 
Well, lets get this area out in the fresh air shall we? Lets talk about the 100 years!
  • Is it as bad as it sounds? 
  • Are there alternatives? 
We've looked at this contentious part of the CFI very carefully, given that it is one of the real brakes on uptake by farmers. Our understanding is that if you take it to 25 to 35 years, there are at least three consequences:
  1. The credits will not be very saleable overseas. 
  2. You can"t sell them into the "compliance" market here or overseas (the $23/tonne market) due to the Governments commitment to Kyoto. 
  3. The value of a 25 year credit could be quite low. 
But, there are precedents. The Voluntary Carbon Standard is an overseas Standard accepted in our market. They have a 25 year project running in Tasmania at the moment. It's a tree method, but not for planting trees. Rather for not knocking them down!

So, I'm on the track of some speakers who will be able to shed some light on the pros and cons. Perhaps we could have CHOICE for farmers. More than one type of credit; long term and medium term? 

Stay tuned, get your registrations in early and we'll get both sides of the story.

I am now so "tech savvy", and there is always so much happening in this space now, you can keep in touch by following me on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.
For all the latest Conference news and to book your places now, please go to www.carbonfarmingconference.com.au. I am, as usual, your humble carbon servant and can always be reached on 02 6374 0329 or at louisa@carbonfarmersofaustralia.com.au.

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A green rate hike

Tuesday, August 14, 2012
I think we were all a bit shocked when we saw the story in the Weekly Times recently, which reported that a poor semi-retired man on 16ha had his rates increased from $1500 to $5000 "because he'd planted trees for carbon". 

So, I called the 'shire' (yes, Victoria has one as well, namely the Mornington Shire Council) 
 
Seems the guts of it is as follows: 
  • Not at all sure this gentleman has planting his trees under a methodology which would create credits - but 
  • I haven't contacted him. 
  • He is in an area which has 2 ratings - one for residential land and one for agriculture. They try to protect agriculture.
  • Due to the 'tourist' value of the area - it looks pretty to have the cows in the meadow, sheep in the hay etc. 
  • He had his rating changed a year or so ago as he changed from an agricultural pursuit to a 'no animal' approach.
  • He is able to claim a rate reduction from what they call a 'land sustainability rebate' for the tree plantings.
  • If a farmer who is farming for profit on a farm puts in a tree carbon plot as part of what he does in an agricultural sense, he is unlikely to trip any rate change - after all, its just rated as agriculture'. As such, there aren't any other rates category that it comes under. 
However, I would be nervous enough after this little piece, and given the Vic. Govt. doesn't seem to agree with carbon 
farming, to check with my shire if I was in Victoria and going to plant some trees. 
 
We ourselves were out today checking out our 'marginal land' and taking some GPS points. We'll whack them 
through the Govt. calculators and let you know what the Govt says we could sequester. Let's all get the skills 
we need to take part, or at least make decisions about taking part. 

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Watch what you say about Carbon Credits

Monday, August 06, 2012
People making comments about CFI carbon credits in the media or in presentations or just in conversation may have to watch what they say if they do not have an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFS). When the Government decided that a CFI Credit would be classified as a financial instrument, it brought a lot of people under one of the strictest regulatory regimes in the world.

If your words are likely to influence your audience's decision about a CFI investment, you are considered to be a provider of financial services, and you must be licensed by ASIC under the Corporations Act 2001. “[A]dvice relating to an offset project in the context of the Carbon Farming Initiative” is a specific example given. It may be considered to apply to comments that regularly appear in the media.

To discover whether you fall under the regime, the questions that must be answered are these:
  1. What is financial advice?
  2. What is technical advice?
  3. When can technical advice become financial advice?
It is important to distinguish between advice of a technical nature about projects and advice that is intended to “influence a person’s decision on the financial products emanating from the project... which is likely to be financial product advice.” 

Examples of technical advice that are not likely to represent financial product advice are the following:
  1. Advice about options for technology that may be used or the feasibility of implementing the physical aspects of a project; 
  2. Advice about the implementation, construction and costs of a project;
  3. Advice about the “potential sequestration, avoidance or abatement of emissions that does not include advice about the income that may be derived from regulated emissions units generated by a project”; and
  4. Advice about the ongoing operations of a project.
But it is also important to consider whether this information, when seen beside other material that you provide, may together constitute financial advice.

Factual matter presented in a way that does not contain or imply a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a regulated emissions unit is unlikely to constitute financial product advice. Examples of these types of advice are:
  1. Advice about the eligibility of a project as an offsetting project; 
  2. Advice about the process of getting approval of eligiblity; 
  3. Advice about the monitoring of emissions sequestration, avoidance or abatement of the project; or 
  4. Advice about verification or audit of the emissions sequestration, avoidance or abatement of the project.
Advice about the potential commercial benefits of a project through the generation of regulated emissions units relates to a financial product and may influence a decision on that product. This is likely to constitute financial product advice.


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CFI - Monster or Monster Profits? Find out at the 6th annual 2012 Carbon Farming Week!

Sunday, August 05, 2012

SAVE THE DATE! - Carbon Farming Week incorporating the 6th annual Carbon Farming Conference and Expo. Dubbo, October 22nd to 25th. 

You know, we need to give this Carbon Farming Initiative thing a fair go - after all, it could be a flow of money into regional Australia - we could build resilience in our soils and on farm. We could, as landholders, take our rightful place as heroes of the climate change debate (and be paid to do it)... But gosh (or something slightly more forceful!), it sure is a funny shape! 

Even for us, now its here, it's like giving birth to something you don’t quite recognize as your own! Trading is a reality, but now the rules and regulations are out, do we want to engage? After all, it can’t be done without landholders!
We bring together ALL the latest information and knowledge to answer your very real concerns: 
  • Why are the rules the way they are? What the heck is the 100 years rule about?
  • What is a methodology and why do I need one?
  • Can I do this myself, or hand it over to the experts? 
  • Is it just for the big boys? 
  • Is there ANY money in this that is not just in the too hard basket? 
  • If I get funding from a Grant, does it make it worthwhile?
  • I’m a grazier - when the heck will I be able to be paid for increasing soil carbon?
 We’ll also explore a few other areas at the upcoming Carbon Conference: 
  • How to do a ‘project’ (that’s what its called) yourself 
  • How do I know a good deal when a project developer (that’s what they are called) comes knocking? 
  • Planting trees sounds OK - how bad is the paperwork?
  • Could I make a buck if I’m storing soil carbon as well as tree carbon? 
  • Innovation in measuring soil carbon. When can I baseline?
We already have some exciting speakers lined up - including Alastair Handley, coming all the way from Canada to share his experience in trading in soil carbon. His experience helps to put it all in perspective!

Not up to speed with all of the new jargon? No worries - The Carbon Farming 101 half-day workshop the day before the conference (Monday 22nd October) is tailor-made for you! 

Got a great product or process you want to bring to our attention? Be part of our exhibitors expo - always a great place to visit at conference. 

Is there a topic on carbon farming that you would like addressed? Or an innovation to showcase? Well, ‘come on down’ and let me know all about it. You know I want to be the first to know!

  
I am now so ‘tech savvy’, and there is always so much happening in this space now, you can keep in touch by following me on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.
For all the latest Conference news and to book your places now, please go to www.carbonfarmingconference.com.au. I am, as usual, your humble carbon servant and can always be reached on 02 6374 0329 or at louisa@carbonfarmersofaustralia.com.au.

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Is there money in dairy manure methane destruction?

Friday, August 03, 2012
Dairy farmers are caught in a price war between the supermarkets on top of a long term decline in their terms of trade. The new methane destruction opportunity could give many of them a lifeline in the form of a new revenue stream from carbon markets. The economics of methane destruction will dictate its success. The cost to install a system has been variously quoted at anything between $80,000 and $300,000. Many dairy farmers won’t have the money lying around. But there are other questions that need answers: 
  1. Will the farmer qualify for offsets when they do install a system, and 
  2. How long into the future will these offsets be available? 
The uncertainty is caused by the notion of common practice. The Additionality Principle holds that if 5% of farmers in a location or market or environment adopt a practice, the practice is now likely to be taken up for its inherent benefits rather than the incentive of offsets. So the early adopters get offsets, but only until the practice reaches the 5%, after which it is declared common and offsets cease. Australia has around 7000 dairy farms. 75% of them currently use anaerobic ponds. Dairying is location specific. Farms tend to be clustered in districts where soils and rainfall are favourable. 

The principle of ‘common practice’ only works if the practice has inherent benefits for production or cost reduction. Now piggeries need energy to warm sow stalls, so they can save a lot of money on their electricity bills. Dairies are also big users of electricity. But will that be enough to encourage a farmer unlucky enough to be in the +5% cluster to stump up the cash? “They would have done it anyway” is at best a guess… and a most unscientific method on which to base a plan to save the planet.

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Now you can afford to increase soil carbon

Thursday, August 02, 2012
One of the biggest puzzles about soil carbon has been solved. In 2008, 5 scientists published a short paper called "The Hidden Cost of Carbon Sequestration".* Many people thought it shot a big hole in any prospect of Soil Carbon trading. Effectively, it made the claim that a farmer could not afford to increase carbon levels in their soils because humus ties up nitrogen and other nutrients needed by plants to grow. The farmer would have to buy extra fertiliser to replace that stolen by the humus and it would cost more to do that than soil carbon trading would pay. 

The lead author told me that, based on his paper's argument,  the increases in soil C achieved by leading carbon farmers were doubtful. "

I am aware of Colin Seis's remarkable achievements, and I have wondered 
how he has succeeded in increasing soil organic matter in the topsoil by
 2%. If that increase is largely humus, then it is likely to contain, in 
organically bound form, about 2 tonne/ha of N, 400 kg/ha of P and 300
kg/ha of S.  I puzzle about where such large amounts could have come
 from.

 Regards, 

John Passioura".  

Well, now science has solved the puzzle. Free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria are supplying 75% of the N a 2t/ha cereal wheat paddock in the Mallee uses, according to the Victorian DPI. A 12-year trial found bacteria are delivering 35kg/ha each year. In an intensive cropping regime the organic carbon level rose from 0.80% to 1% between 1997 and 2011. Cropping is usually a carbon-exporting activity. The CSIRO's Dr Margaret Roper has published a review of literature that estimates that the theoretical potential of the contribution of these bacteria is up to 150kgN/ha. The DPI's Ron Sonogan reported the Mallee trials: "Assuming a 0.2% increase in OC each year, this may well have added another 120kg/ha of nitrogen to the system over 14 years." The  widespread shift to no-till and stubble-retention over the last 20 years has increased the carbon inputs which are a key driver for bacterial N2 fixation. Estimates of fixation were set more than 20 years ago and are therefore in need of up-dating, say the scientists. Australian Farm Journal reported the findings earlier this year, proving that the nutrients incorporated in humus don't have to come out of a bag.

*GRDC Groundcover Magazine Issue 76, p.19  (2008)


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Soil Carbon baseline ALERT

Wednesday, August 01, 2012
Farmers involved in Action On The Ground projects which have soil carbon measurement as a key objective should ask their scientific adviser about the baseline measurement methodology you will be using. The requirement that the farm-scale or paddock-scale measurement method used for Action On The Ground be consistent with that used in the SCaRP is confusing. “SCaRP was not set up to baseline carbon contents on paddocks or farms”, Dr Jeff Baldock wrote in a paper published late last year.  So where does that leave you? Ask your scientific adviser the following questions:
  1. Do we have a soil carbon baseline methodology that meets the Department's requirements?
  2. Do we know if the baseline measurements that we take for this project will be useful for measuring carbon sequestered that we can put towards gaining offsets should they become available?
  3. Will our involvement in this project disqualify us from earning soil carbon offsets in future because of the Additionality Integrity Standard? What can we do to avoid this outcome?


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