Net zero comes at a cost to farmers

Rural industries fear they will be financially unable to keep up with the pace of the move to renewable fuel sources and have urged the government to be realistic when setting targets.

Farm machines and vehicles powered by hydrogen, electricity and biofuels are emerging on the market, but transitioning is costly and running costs are higher. Picture: Else Kennedy

Rural industries fear they will be financially unable to keep up with the pace of the move to renewable fuel sources and have urged the government to be realistic when setting targets.

As the government pressures industries to reduce their carbon emissions, the push to move away from fossil fuels is being felt on the ground in rural communities that rely on traditional diesel-powered vehicles to perform everyday tasks, according to a new report.

About 9 per cent of agricultural carbon emissions are attributed to fuel combustion, making it a key target of the sector’s reduction efforts. Farm machines and vehicles powered by hydrogen, electricity and biofuels are emerging on the market, but transitioning is costly and running costs are higher.

A report by representative body GrainGrowers calculates that diesel accounts for about 85 per cent of on-farm energy use and the requirement of high torque and long operational cycles in remote locations put some newer technologies out of reach.

“Government ambition must be aligned with practical availability and affordability of emerging technologies to avoid burdening growers with excessive financial costs,” GrainGrowers advocacy and rural affairs manager Sean Cole said.

“An agriculture-specific low emissions vehicle road map is required to allow a co-ordinated and strategic response to be developed.”

Mr Cole said the costs of running existing fossil-fuel powered machinery were considerably less than from other sources but analysis based on assumptions of future hydrogen availability and cost trends showed they could be on par by 2050.

The report said achieving net-zero emissions would require substantial reductions in the cost and efficiency of low-emission technologies in order for farmers to accept new-age products without excessive financial burdens.

While newly developed battery powered vehicles are available and running costs are only fractionally more than diesel, they can struggle to keep up with the onerous requirement for farm machinery to operate at close to full power for most of their time in use – sometimes around the clock for days on end.

Hydrogen powered vehicles are also still in their early days and are more prohibitively expensive for farmers.

The report said biofuels, which can be made using feedstock waste, could act as a bridge between current fossil fuel machinery and zero emissions technologies.

Developing a stronger biofuel industry could also boost regional economies and create jobs.

“As electrification and hydrogen technologies are scaling up, renewable diesel provides a possible short-term solution to reduce life cycle emissions in the order of 60-80 per cent per unit of energy,” the report said.

“The cost of this trade off is an increased cost in the price of renewable liquid diesel, versus conventional fossil fuel derived diesel.

“Due to the cost difference, there may be a role for government to consider positive incentives to help underpin the success of the biofuels industry.”