Farmers need support to make energy transition

Farmers are overwhelmingly keen to improve their carbon footprints but require more on-farm help to cut emissions.

Farmers are overwhelmingly keen to improve their carbon footprints but need more on-farm help to cut emissions while still making a profit.

That’s the verdict from the latest survey by Farmers for Climate Action, prompting the lobby group to call for “significantly increased” federal and state government investment for support staff and programs that will assist producers navigating the carbon and climate minefield.

FCA has also called for a “cohesive” national plan to improve the resilience of agriculture as governments and commodities push towards ambitious net-zero carbon economy targets.

Off the 600 farmers FCA surveyed, 93 per cent said they were willing to shift to low-emissions production, but just one-in-ten are currently active in the carbon market, while 70 per cent said they do not understand it.

Meanwhile, agriculture’s post-drought recovery has created a bigger carbon footprint, with rising greenhouse gas emissions, blamed on increased crop production and animal restocking, rising to their highest levels in almost two decades, according to the latest update of Australia’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory.

“The moral incentive to reduce emissions is clear and accepted by producers”: Victorian beef farmer Olivia Lawson. Source: Included

FCA chief executive Fiona Davis said farmers needed more information and education on how to reduce emissions.

“We see a role for government to provide support for farmers by investing in emissions

reduction technologies and initiatives, such as an instant tax asset write-off for renewable

energy or on-farm energy storage,” Dr Davis said.

“This could form part of a broader plan for climate and agriculture, which the (Farming Forever) report recommends.”

She said federally-funded extension officers could be embedded in the regions to offer producers first-hand and practical information on carbon markets, renewable energy and storage, and help them access incentives for things like on-farm batteries.

Farmers have previously told The Weekly Times that the biggest roadblock to starting a carbon reduction journey remained the expensive start-up costs and knowledge gap.

Olivia Lawson who operates Paringa Livestock, a diverse stud beef business in central Victoria, is participating in a state government pilot program offering technical expertise to assist farmers better understand their emissions profile and develop action plans.

“The moral incentive to reduce emissions is clear and accepted by producers,” Olivia said.

She also said grant incentive models would ultimately help those “middle chunk” of farmers wanting to take on-farm climate action but worried about making costly financial mistakes.

The FCA’s Farming Forever report, released today, also found government funds and grant schemes, such as the Future Drought Fund, are under-utilised by farmers due to “the complexity and administrative cost of accessing such support”.