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the australian farmer
When cropping meets the carbon economy: play the offensive game
By Guy R. Webb
As an agronomist in the Australian agricultural carbon space, I see opportunity and risk ahead for With business Greenhouse Gas emissions reporting now a reality in Australia, and agriculture becoming increasingly entangled in the carbon economy, how can farmers best position themselves?
farming in the evolving carbon economy. Farm- ers may be asked to account for, and then ultim- ately pay for, emissions (i.e., fertiliser, electricity, fuel, methane etc.) created in the production of agricultural produce (i.e., grain, meat, fibre). The philosophy of “Occam's Razor” suggests that the most likely scenario will be that insetting emissions will simply become a requirement to market entry. Importantly, the grower will bear this cost of lowering the on farm emissions i.e., reduce fertiliser, fuel, or livestock from burping. Not a very straightforward task on the farm and often economically very unpalatable. There is a narrative in the landscape that agri- culture should ”socialise” its carbon emissions
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