Paraway Pastoral secures $75m to cut methane emissions

Macquarie-owned Paraway Pastoral has secured a significant investment from the Federal Government to drastically reduce its methane emissions.

One of Australia’s largest pastoral land owners has secured a $75 million investment from the federal government owned Clean Energy Finance Corporation to drastically reduce its methane emissions.

Macquarie owned Paraway Pastoral Company will use the significant investment to reduce its methane intensity by at least 30 per cent by 2030.

Under the management of Macquarie Agricultural Funds, Paraway operates pastoral and cropping farms across more than 4.5 million hectares across Australia, with the capacity to run more than 220,000 cattle and 250,000 sheep, as well as dryland and irrigated cropping.

Macquarie’s Paraway Pastoral Company will establish demonstration farms to showcase its advances in emissions reduction techniques.

Agriculture contributes about 13 per cent of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions annually, and by weight, almost half of the sector’s emissions are methane produced by cows.

CEFC chief executive Ian Learmonth said given agriculture was an emissions intensive industry that contributed significantly to Australia’s carbon footprint, “we must redouble our efforts to help farmers do their important work sustainably”.

“We are excited to work with Paraway on its net zero pathway, including addressing important methane emission reductions which we hope can be translated to the broader pastoral sector,” he said.

As part of its commitment with the CEFC, Paraway will share its progress with other producers as demonstration farms across different regions with varying production systems and emissions challenges.

New technologies being trialled include altered herd management and genetics selection, changes to feed additive and farm practices, vegetation management and enhanced emissions measurement.

Paraway chief executive Harvey Gaynor said the company was looking forward to trialling new ways to reduce emissions for the benefit of the broader sector, “with the long-term aim of producing more of the quality food the world needs, while reducing our environmental impact”.