Macdoch Foundation founder Alasdair Macleod tells COP26 of a farm revolution that could return carbon to the soil

Alasdair Macleod is backing the Farming for the Future project.

Macdoch Foundation founder Alasdair Macleod told the COP26 in Glasgow this week that the right farm practices could return 80 billion tonnes of carbon to the soil, which equates to 300 giga tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent six years of annual emissions.

They are impressive numbers and, while he is quick to say the world is at early stages in the policy, the fact is good farm management in the right areas is just basic good sustainable farming which happens to be environmentally friendly and now offers farmers the chance for extra income through carbon credits.

The process could cause disruption elsewhere because arguably sustainable farming needs less fertilisers and weed killers which will hit the likes of Nufarm and international giant Bayer.

These companies are adapting by replacing chemicals with services, projects like one trying to adapt spider poison to kill insects, and more targeted crop spraying to reduce waste and damage.

For those in the soil carbon game the time is now after what Agriprove’s Matthew Warnken says is 10 years of chipping away below the surface.

New technology such as Hone Carbon’s sensor measurement and Carbon Count’s method processing are helping to cut costs and Warnken is confident costs per tonne will be as low as 50c by 2030. This is well below the government target of $3 a tonne and compares to $25 a tonne today.

Proponents hope Energy Minister Angus Taylor will come to the party with less complex regulations on top of stated plans to allow method stacking, which is different means to carbon emission reduction.

Some worry carbon farming will take precedence over good farming with productive land wasted in the hunt for higher priced carbon credits. Still, Warnken says “Australia is leading the world in this field which in the past has been technically complex and administratively complex”.

Agriprove, spun out of the Macquarie-backed Corporate Carbon, has taken on a new funder which will be unveiled shortly, joining the likes of Jeremy Grantham from Grantham Mayo.

Macleod through his Wilmott properties is backing a research effort to establish the facts behind carbon farming to show farmers the benefits.

The Farming for the Future project is aimed at helping farmers towards more climate resilient properties, providing a clear view of the costs and benefits, and a paper on the opportunities from PwC will be launched shortly

Both costs and benefits have seen positive trends with measurement made easier through sensor technology handheld devices from the likes of Hone Carbon and carbon prices in the voluntary market rising to highs of around $39 a tonne, more than double a year ago.

The aim of the FFTF project is to establish the connection between natural capital and farm profitability.

Green Collar’s James Schultz says higher prices are due to a combination of factors boosting demand including increased awareness, other industries seeing compliance costs increasing or about to increase, and international pressure.

The Glasgow talks considered how best to co-ordinate international trading, which will require common standards and may start with regional links.

Australia comes to the table with the government’s ACCUS, or Australian carbon credit units, being internationally recognised as high standard which increases demand.

The government is loath to talk about the carbon market least it be interpreted as setting a carbon price which may be wrongly interpreted as a tax on carbon.

The argument is a nonsense and Schultz argues setting a price is the best way to encourage emissions reductions.

Climate Friendly’s Skye Glenday has welcomed the government initiative to allow project stacking, which means farmers can use different means to reduce carbon by increasing carbon in the soil through vegetation, cool weather burning, revegetation by growing more trees and the like.

Offsetting has attracted criticism because it allows big emitters to carry on operations rather than simply stopping coal mining.

Proponents say it is a transition tool and argue the government should instead wind back the safeguard standards – the amount of carbon each company can emit.

Tougher standards would mean more emissions reduction through either direct cutbacks or more offsets.

Taylor is a big supporter of carbon farming because it fits with his mantra on technology helping to reduce global emissions and allows farmers to continue to operate, albeit under new practices.

There are plenty of naysayers with Melbourne Uni’s Richard Eckhard cautioning: “Soil carbon will not be enough to offset agricultural emissions let alone the coal industry. The idea we can bail out the coal industry with just soil is fanciful.”

He is right but that doesn’t negate the benefits and no-one is suggesting it is the only answer.

While Taylor is loathe to spruik its benefits the good news is a combination of factors is increasing.

The subject has become popular during COP26 but it is not exactly revolutionary.

Carbon Count’s Phillip Mulvey and his daughter Freya have detailed the way through the minefield in their book Ground Breaking.

Tiverton Agriculture’s Nigel Sharp explained “soil carbon is a key indicator of soil health and agricultural sustainability, so by working to increase soil carbon we are also improving the productivity and resilience of land”.

He works by the “seven Cs’’, a checklist of investment and impact priorities: creatures, climate, corridors (connecting areas of similar habitat), community, culture, cashflow and capital. “Ideally, they will all be in harmony, or at least a balance,” he says.

The Savory Institute established by Zimbabwean Allan Savory in 2009 has spread the word which should be a boon to farmers.

As Macleod told a forum this week cows have had a hard time at COP26 but Savory says cows managed the right way actually help carbon farming.

Wild herds tend to move quickly to avoid predators so this means they don’t eat all the vegetation before moving on, and their dung and urine is a natural fertiliser while their hoofs stamp on plants stimulating further growth.

Sharp’s Tiverton portfolio includes the 33,000-hectare Great Cumbung Station JV with US-based Nature Conservancy, Picardy Station in Queensland and Sunland Fresh Fruits in Cobram near the Murray River.

The Tiverton station on the edge of Victoria’s western districts is a sheep station which also serves as a sanctuary for bandicoots.

The fund “incorporates leading-edge practices that increase biodiversity, enriches soils, supports carbon sequestration, improves water management, enhances ecosystem services and strengthens community resilience”.

Just as Sharp points to better quality fruit from the carbon-rich soils in Cobram, Willmott manager Stuart Austin says “grass-fed beef provides the highest quality beef and changed the way we managed land to build a resilient and sustainable business”.

“The regular resting periods involved in the time-controlled grazing method enabled the paddocks to recover, thereby maintaining soil structure and high levels of ground cover resulting in the continuous availability of feed, and the ability to finish 100 per cent grass-fed beef.”

Linking in with the Landcare 20 Million Trees program, Stuart began to revegetate the property, planting more than 20,000 tube stock native trees and introducing dung beetles across the site.

The revolution is taking shape.