Comprehensive measurement, reporting and verification of sustainability activities is a core focus, ensuring responsible farming practices are backed by rigorous, data-driven evidence, balancing the economic, environmental and social impacts of the business.

Emissions are calculated for each individual paddock, allowing for the identification of opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while enhancing productivity.

Combining decades of agronomic innovation with the use of new emissions accounting solutions like Agricultural Innovation Australia’s (AIA) Environmental Accounting Platform (EAP), is demonstrating how emissions accounting can be key driver of long-term resilience.

As Tom Gameau, Senior Farm Analyst at McCabe AgCo, explains, emissions accounting isn’t a compliance exercise - it’s a must have management tool.

“We've been accounting for our emissions since 2020. Through more sophisticated analysis we are laying the groundwork for increased on-farm productivity and long-term resilience, with the focus firmly on the future requirements of premium grains markets,” Tom said.

“The main benefits for on-farm productivity have come from identifying inefficiencies in our production system, and by addressing those, we can cut costs, reduce waste, and increase yields.”

Keeping detailed crop records helps McCabe AgCo stay accountable, improve financial performance, and refine management decisions. The business tracks chemical applications, fertiliser usage, financial benchmarking, nitrogen and water use efficiency and emissions intensity.

Managing variability McCabe AgCo operates in a diverse and sometimes challenging production environment.

“We grow wheat, canola, lentils and beans, our soil types range from sandy loams to self-mulching clays, and we get about 425 millimetres of annual rainfall,” Tom says.

That variability has driven the business to incorporate a wide suite of sustainable practices over time. We adopted disc seeding and chicken manure about 20 years ago. Soil testing has been a big focus, allowing for precision fertiliser management. Some more recent practices would include strategic fallow, PH and EC mapping, green on brown optical spraying, and variable rate phosphorus.”

While these practices have delivered clear agronomic benefits, McCabe AgCo’s next leap forward has come from quantifying their environmental impact.

This philosophy reflects a broader shift occurring across Australian agriculture: sustainability is no longer viewed as a constraint, but as a pathway to improved performance. At McCabe AgCo, that shift is underpinned by rigorous data.

“Comprehensive measurement, reporting and verification of sustainability activities is a core focus for us because it allows us to have strong conviction with practice change on-farm. The better our systems are, the better the data feedback, and that allows us to continually improve what we're doing.”

Environmental Accounting – a platform to performance A key area of interest for McCabe AgCo is the AIA Environmental Accounting Platform, which the business sees as an excellent entry point for growers starting out on their emissions accounting journey.

Designed to provide consistent, commodity-specific and science-based emissions accounting across agricultural systems, the free platform gives farmers an accessible way to build a baseline understanding of on-farm emissions and scenario-plan from there.

McCabe AgCo is particularly excited by AIA's recent release of open-source API code, which opens the door to much tighter integration between platforms. Once APIs become available with farm management tools such as Agworld, the business anticipates drawing on the EAP to further streamline emissions calculations, reduce duplication of data entry, and embed standardised, science-based accounting even more deeply into its day-to-day farm management workflow.

As Tom explains, traditional commodity-level emissions reporting often masks the variability that exists within a farm, by contrast, paddock-level analysis reveals the true drivers of emissions intensity.

“Calculating emissions down to the paddock level provides valuable insights into the impact of many factors that don't show in the commodity level emissions.

“Things like crop variety, fertiliser rates, and just the broader history of that paddock leading up to that crop are really highlighted in the paddock level emissions, which allows us to build off that feedback and continually iterate on what we do.”

“Knowing your number is hugely important in emissions accounting because you need to know where you are, to know where you're going. By identifying where you sit relative to regional averages, you can identify the low hanging fruit and make positive impacts right from the start.”

“Emissions accounting has helped with on farm decision making by giving us a clear picture of where our emissions hotspots are. This allows us to identify where we should focus capital expenditure, what on-farm trials we should be running, and which inputs are critical for recording accurately.”

Aligning environmental and economic outcomes This ability to prioritise investment is particularly valuable in a sector where margins can be tight and seasonal conditions unpredictable. By linking emissions data with operational decisions, McCabe AgCo is effectively aligning environmental and economic outcomes.

Beyond internal benefits, emissions accounting is also positioning the business for future market opportunities. As supply chains increasingly demand transparency and low-emissions products, robust data systems become a competitive advantage, both for internal confidence and for external opportunity.

“By ensuring our emissions data is accurate and supported by strong traceability systems, we're signalling to the supply chain that we're open for opportunities.

“We're preparing for the future by building long term resilience through soil health and natural capital. We also use soil data, emissions profiling and precision tools to better manage inputs and performance.”

A rising tide lifts all boats Importantly, McCabe AgCo is not keeping its learnings to itself. Sharing data helps build a broader understanding of low-emissions grain production and supports the development of credible benchmarks.

“We share our emissions data with industry groups to help build understanding and demonstrate low emissions products to markets. Banks recognise emissions accounting as good risk management, but they don't yet require detailed reporting, however this will certainly evolve in the near future.”

For other growers considering a similar journey, Tom emphasises the importance of robust systems and team engagement.

“My advice for growers who want to improve their emissions accounting would be to find a good farm management system that works for them and their team. When you get good buy in from everyone who's responsible for entering records, it makes the whole process seamless.”

“I'd recommend the AIA Environmental Accounting Platform for growers who want to start to gain a better understanding of their emissions profile. It’s free, easy to use and can cater for all production systems.”

As agriculture faces increasing pressure to reduce emissions while feeding a growing population, the experience of McCabe AgCo offers a compelling blueprint. By combining practical on-farm innovation with robust environmental accounting, the business is proving that sustainability and productivity are not competing goals but intrinsically connected.

This case study is an investment of the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).

The AIA Environmental Accounting Platform (EAP) is a free, standardised tool for calculating on-farm greenhouse gas emissions across multiple commodities.

Growers can use the EAP to:

The EAP is backed by industry, built with investment from Grains Research and Development Corporation and nine other rural Research and Development Corporations.