As demand for agricultural productivity, on-farm efficiency, and reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions increases, so does the technology and data-driven insights employed by producers to manage their operations.

The NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) On-farm Carbon Advice Program is an initiative to support agricultural producers to reduce on-farm GHG emissions. A key focus of this initiative is to increase awareness and understanding of emission reduction strategies for extensive beef, sheep, dairy and mixed farming enterprises.

Driven by fundamentals of education, awareness, and practical strategies, the On-farm Carbon Advice Program has been engaged with more than 100 producers over the last 3 years.

Some of the ways NSW DPIRD are supporting producers and mixed farming enterprises is through carbon farming fundamentals workshops, conducting on-farm demonstrations to showcase emissions reduction techniques, and developing Farm Carbon Management Plans.

Lisa McFadyen, Project Coordinator, NSW DPIRD, said that Agricultural Innovation Australia’s (AIA) Environmental Accounting Platform (EAP). has been integral to the delivery of the Farm Carbon Management Plans for their program.

“Before AIA launched the EAP we were using spreadsheet-based emissions accounting. The EAP tool has enabled multi-commodity reporting which has reduced the occurrence of data fragmentation,” she said.

“One of the biggest benefits of the EAP is the multi-commodity feature of the emissions calculations, which have been traditionally clunky and challenging to track.

“Introducing the EAP has changed the way producers look at on-farm emissions reporting.

“Not only is the platform endorsed by entities producers trust, but the governance of AIA means that it’s industry best practice. Producers using the platform are reassured by the fact that their farm data is owned by them, and they have permission features of who they share their data with. Having their farm data in a central platform ensures that the data won’t become obsolete.”

The EAP was funded by 10 RDCs, representative of the breadth of commodities captured in the platform. This ensures that the EAP is free, agile, and accurate.

Best practice management principles A key project delivery priority, the NSW DPIRD team wanted to simplify the process of carbon and emissions reporting for producers while maintaining technical integrity. Their goal was to help producers identify on-farm emissions sources, understand data requirements, and implement best-practice strategies.

Responsive and collaborative development Having used the EAP platform for a year, the NSW DPIRD team identified further opportunities to enhance the value of the AIA EAP for their project and whole of industry.

NSW DPIRD sponsored AIA to further develop the EAP to reflect commodity-specific calculations for broadacre crops.

“This has enabled NSW DPIRD’s clients and other EAP users to enter individual cropping activities, enhancing the emissions intensity estimates for crop cultivars and improving the relevance of emissions data and operational insights,” Lisa said.

“AIA was responsive, agile, and in addressing our client need has enhanced the tool for everyone.”

Data performance and integrity Given the importance of the data to individual producer’s operations, a sticking point is the data ownership that clients retain with their engagement with AIA’s carbon calculator. When signing up for the platform, producers are the owners of the data they input and can decide who they share it with and with different access options.

For advisors like NSW DPIRD, these accounts mean that they have visibility to collaborate on their accounting and carbon initiatives without ‘overstepping’.

“The farmers own the data. By getting them to sign up and give us permission, they’re reassured that they can boot us out at any time,” Lisa said.

“That gives them a really good level of comfort that they own their data and that their EAP emissions profile is directed by them.”

For more information about NSW DPIRD’s On-farm Carbon Advice Program, visit https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/dpi/climate/Low-emissions-agriculture/On-farm-Carbon-Advice

If you’d like to access the AIA’s EAP calculator for free, your can register for an account here.

For more information, contact info@aiaplatform.com.au.

About On-Farm Carbon Advice The On-Farm Carbon Advice project is a joint initiative between the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) and the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW), funded through the Primary Industries Productivity and Abatement Program (PIPAP).