Know Your Farm's Emissions Profile
Wondering where your farm's greenhouse gas emissions actually come from? The On-farm Carbon Advice project creates personalised Farm Carbon Management Plans that show you exactly what emissions are coming from your enterprise.
This 1:1 learning opportunity provides you with:
- How to use an emissions calculator,
- Understanding of farm practices and their impacts to your emissions profile,
- An emissions breakdown for one year,
- Emissions intensities for your produce, and
- Emissions reduction and sequestration strategies
Some major retailers and processors are starting to require emissions data from suppliers. This Farm Carbon Management Plan is a first step to learn about your emissions and be ready for the future.
Ready for your Farm Carbon Management Plan?
Email carbon@dpird.nsw.gov.au 📞 Lisa McFadyen: 0447 023 628
Upcoming Events
- 25 September 2025 - Agronomy Field Day @ Trangie - Register here
- 10 October 2025 - Multi Species Field Walk @ Cudal - Register here
- 23 October 2025 - Field Day @ Wagga Wagga - Express your interest
Webinar series
The On-Farm Carbon Advice team has been hosting a webinar series on current policy work and research undertaken by DPIRD in low emissions agriculture. Upcoming topics include:
- What is Biochar and Its Uses in Agricultural Systems
- Turning Weeds into Biochar: Opportunities for biochar production using a mobile biochar unit
Previous webinars are also available on our website:
- Repowering the future: Low carbon liquid fuels and agriculture with Michael Cashen
- Nitrogen efficiency with Dr Graeme Schwenke
- Low methane beef project with Tom Granleese
- Low methane sheep project with Ed Clayton and feed additive delivery systems with Geoff Casburn
- Designing pastures mixes to reduce emissions with Matthew Newell and Richard Meyer
- Soil carbon, its limits and opportunities with Dr Warwick Badgery and
- Low emissions agriculture with Dr Aaron Simmons.
Seasonal Conditions
The latest (August) State Seasonal Conditions update: 44% of NSW is considered in one of the drought categories. However, the DPIRD Drought Forecast is optimistic with a 3-month rainfall outlook, the most likely outcome is that drought conditions will ease slightly across parts of western, central and southern NSW. Some Drought Affected areas will likely transition into the NSW-CDI Recovery category.
Visit the The DPIRD’s State Seasonal Conditions website for more detail.
Learn More
Thinking About Carbon Farming? Here’s a Handy Guide to Help You Get Started
The Carbon Market Institute has released a practical guide to help landholders navigate the process of starting a carbon farming project under the Australian Carbon Credit Unit (ACCU) Scheme. Developed with input from farmers and supported by the Queensland Government’s Land Restoration Fund, this resource is designed to make the complex world of carbon farming easier to understand and manage.
The guide walks landholders through each stage of a carbon farming project—from early planning and partner engagement to legal and financial advice. It includes plain-English explanations of the ACCU Scheme, outlines different project models, and highlights key considerations like land use, long-term commitments, and regulatory compliance.
One of the most useful features is a set of five checklists that help landholders ask the right questions before entering into a carbon farming agreement. These cover due diligence, working with project partners, and seeking professional advice. The goal is to ensure landholders are well-informed, protected, and confident in their decisions.
Carbon farming offers a chance to diversify income, improve land management, and contribute to climate goals. This guide helps landholders make the most of those opportunities—while avoiding common pitfalls.
Costs of transitioning the livestock sector to net-zero emissions under future climates
Bilotto, F., Christie-Whitehead, K.M., Malcolm, B., Barnes, N., Cullen, B., Ayre, M., & Harrison, M.T., (2025)
A new study published in Nature Communications using computer modelling, looked at different strategies to reduce emission for two different enterprises in Tasmania under 3 different climate scenarios, historical climate, the future 2030 and 2050.The researchers used detailed farm data from a beef operation in north-west Tasmania and a sheep farm in the Midlands to model alternative mixes of abatement strategies. Most single strategies delivered incremental gains, but when the modelled farms combined different approaches, known as “stacking”, there was more success in lowering emissions and boosting productivity.
The modelled beef farm showed greatest reduction in emissions by combining:
- Feed additives (e.g Agolin, 3 NOP, Asparagopsis) that reduce methane from ruminant livestock
- Better genetics: selecting for improved feed conversion efficiency to increase productivity while reducing enteric methane emissions
- Tree planting for shade and shelter, and renovating pasture to increase animal growth.
When strategies were stacked together, they estimated a possible reduction in emissions while the modelled farms also showed productivity gains.
The study also discussed factors that might need consideration:
- Land use changes: Crop to pasture, pasture to crop, land for tree plantings etc.
- Costs: Better genetics, feed additives, and pasture renovation all require investment
- Knowledge: Additional skills and knowledge may be needed to monitor emissions and adopt practice change
- And then there is also the climate variability and seasonal conditions
The paper also mentions that buying carbon credits to offset emissions was the most expensive way to reach net zero and was less preferable to farmers.
This study shows that a whole-farm approach should be considered rather than single solutions. Every farm is different and what worked in these models may not work everywhere, and consideration needs to be made for different locations, climates, farming systems and balancing trade-offs around land use, costs, and complexity. Farmers looking to future-proof their operations could benefit from improved market access and enhanced environmental stewardship, without sacrificing productivity and potentially profitability.