Seeking Advice
Always seek independent financial, business and legal advice before deciding to establish a carbon farming project. DPIRD has compiled a non-exhaustive Service Provider Directory of independent consultants with expertise in carbon farming, agribusiness and environmental consultation. Providers wishing to be added to this directory can complete this webform.
Carbon Farming Workshops
The Low Carbon Futures team is presenting at a series of carbon farming workshops for farmers and landowners. Join us to learn about planning a carbon farming project or preparing a submission for the CF-LRP. Visit the Carbon Farming Workshops page for details.
Planning & Registering a Project
If you are beginning your carbon farming journey, reading Key Steps- Establishing a Carbon Farming Project should be your first step. This document outlines the key stages; factors to consider along the way; planning, carbon estimation and feasibility considerations; and compliance, delivery, reporting and permanence requirements.
The Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) explains the different project types, how to register with the Clean Energy Regulator, eligibility requirements and permanence obligations.
LOOC-C and FullCAM will help you estimate the potential carbon sequestered by different ERF methods on your property, or engage a consultant to conduct an independent assessment.
The Kondinin Group's Business case for carbon farming: improving your farm’s sustainability covers business considerations for farm owners examining carbon offsets projects for a farm-based business.
The CF-LRP Costings Guide Calculator features some common budget items and expenses you should take in to account when planning your project.
More useful planning tools are located under the General Resources heading below.
Templates and Factsheets
Vegetation projects:
- TEMPLATE: Land Management Strategy - Reforestation by environmental or mallee plantings
- TEMPLATE: Workplan for carbon farming project planning
- FACTSHEET: Revegetation for Carbon Sequestration
Soil carbon projects:
- TEMPLATE: Land Management Strategy - Soil Carbon
- TEMPLATE: Workplan for carbon farming project planning
- FACTSHEET: Soil Carbon Measurement and Analysis
General Resources
An excellent resource summarising the concepts underlying carbon farming, how Australia accounts for greenhouse gas emissions and the potential for WA land managers to participate in, and benefit from, carbon farming is Bulletin 4856 'Carbon farming in relation to Western Australian agriculture'
Understanding your Climate Resilience and calculating baseline emissions for the farm and carbon intensity of crops and livestock is an important planning consideration for your business. View examples of carbon accounts calculated for different farming enterprises.
GrainGrowers has released the Carbon and Cropping report with clear information and facts on carbon farming to help farmers consider the opportunities around carbon for their businesses, families and communities.
Agrifutures Australia's Carbon Decision Tool is designed to assist Australian landholders in understanding which carbon opportunities may be suitable for them. Agrifutures and Carbon Count have also joined together to produce an informative reference "A farmer's handbook to on-farm carbon management"
The University of Western Australia’s Emerita Professor Lynette Abbott has compacted more than five decades of soil biological health research into a free SOILHEALTH app to provide essential information about complex aspects of soil health in a digital format.
The South West Timber Hub has developed a handy calculator called Decision Tree which allows you to assess if trees are a viable crop option for your farm, based on the information you provide. It takes into account details such as your location, annual rainfall, soil types, land prices and comparitive crops/production options.
The Wheatbelt NRM has developed a Carbon Planning Tool designed to guide landholders in carbon planting on their properties. It assesses the proposed Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) sequestration project against mapping undertaken in the Avon NRM region. It takes into consideration the natural resource management benefits from carbon tree planting projects and benefits that can be identified in line with the Regional Natural Resource Management Strategy for the Avon River Basin.
The CSIRO, Australia's National Science Agency hosts the Digiscape Future Science Platform which includes the Biodiversity co-benefits calculator, links to Australia's digital soil map and other carbon faming related information on the LOOC-C page.
The Soil Carbon Research Program (SCaRP) was the largest and most extensive soil sampling and analysis program undertaken in Australia to measure stocks of soil carbon. More than 20,000 samples were taken from a wide range of soil types and farming operations across more than 4000 different locations in selected farming regions. Reports derived from the data gathered through the program include the SCaRP Final Report: Project 4 and the Fertcare Soil Carbon Snapshot developed in conjunction with Victorian Government.
CNBC International's video "What is carbon trading?" discusses the role of world carbon markets in the fight against climate change - are they a help or a hindrance?
Useful vegetation links:
Useful soil carbon links:
- Carbon farming: applying biochar to increase soil organic carbon
- Carbon farming: claying as a method of increasing soil carbon content
- Carbon farming: green and brown manuring
- Reducing nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural soils
- Liming to increase carbon sequestration
- Composting to avoid methane production
- Soil organic carbon and carbon sequestration