1. Building Farmer & Advisor Knowledge in Carbon Farming - Workshop
Carbon calculators……..
Stock & Land
This presentation is about greenhouse gas emissions, carbon farming and case study analysis. It was developed by the Australian Farm Institute and supported by funding from the Australian Government.
It should only take around 30 minutes of your time.
Adelaide – August 2014
Building Farmer & Advisor Knowledge in Carbon Farming - Workshop

2. Supply chains are doing their homework……..
Presenter notes:
Reducing on-farm and through chain emissions may make good business sense, by increasing efficiencies and reducing costs.
Some retailers and food processors are already looking to reduce emissions along their supply chain to save costs, capitalise on market opportunities or meet government regulations. For example, some international supermarkets, such as Aldi and Tesco provide carbon footprinting information on some of their products at the retail level.
Farm businesses that understand their farm emissions profile will be better equipped to capitalise on new market opportunities and respond to emerging supply chain and consumer pressures.
There are more management options in your booklet.
Practical example: Potato produces use a lot of energy keeping potatoes moist, yet the next person in the supply chain takes that moisture out again, using unnecessary energy.

3. Industries too - Understanding Carbon Lifecycle eg 200kg CO2 per 1 tonne wheat produced
Brock et al (2012)

4. Lost energy from our production system!
Presenter notes:
Four main points:
Carbon, methane and nitrous oxide occur naturally.
Their losses from our farming system represent leakages of energy. Analogy: It’s a bit like walking away from a leaking tap.
By finding ways to sequester (or minimise) the leaks from our farming system, it is likely to boost productivity, amongst other benefits.
The types of things you can do to reduce carbon and emissions include: practicing conservation tillage, using water and fertilisers wisely and optimising herd efficiency etc – all good practice.
Lost energy from our production system!

5. Carbon Calculators “Can’t measure = Can’t manage”
National Greenhouse Gas Inventory (NGGI) Methodology: Agriculture
Accounting method for Australia to report GHG emissions internationally
NGGI only includes calculations for GHG emissions that count toward Australia’s emissions reporting
Uses equations and assumptions (emissions & production factors) that represent specific GHG emission pathways
Default emission and production factors are regionally, state or industry specific, not farm specific (that’s where you guys come in!)
Point 2 - UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol obligations

6. But, beware this murky world…… ..of calculators
On farm Ag emissions?, On- farm energy?, Off farm emissions?, Trees?, Soils? Their boundaries vary – Make sure you understand what’s in and what’s not
Total farm emissions vs Emission intensity /unit production vs CO2/ha outputs
Carbon (Tonnes C) or CO2 Equivalent?
Not suitable for use as an auditing tool to participate in CFI
Not accurate enough for measuring GHG emissions from some best vs poor practice (e.g. N application – do your own tweaks)
Note emissions reduction versus dollars saved ! eg a 1% reduction might save $10k! Which is more important to your farmer?
Who’s a liable party/entity vs who pays the cost – be careful!

7. Some examples……….

8. Dairy – D-GAS
(D-Gas Contact:

9. Calculators enables scenarios so you can compare various changes to see if they make much difference…………

10. FarmGAS Calculator Scenario Tool and Financial Tool
The FarmGAS Calculator Scenario Tool (ST) has been upgraded to comply with Government reporting methods. Majors changes include savanna burning and emissions factors
The FarmGAS Calculator ST upgrade also includes Model Scenarios to assist Users learn more about the tool.
A separate Financial Tool has been developed that uses farm and emissions information from the FarmGAS Calculator ST to conduct financial modelling for different emissions reduction projects.
Source – Aust Farm Institute
ase-study-videos
Contact : Adam Tomlinson
The FarmGAS Calculator Scenario Tool also referred to as FarmGAS Calculator ST has been upgraded so that items such as savanna burning in the northern parts of Australia comply with Australian Government reporting standards. Users can now apply different burn factors including different fuel loads for grasslands and woodlands.
The FarmGAS Calculator ST has also been upgraded to include model farms preloaded which can be selected, copied, modified and saved. The model farms provides people using tool, particularly new Users, an opportunity to learn more about the tool without having to enter large amounts of farm and emissions information on their own.
The FarmGAS Calculator ST upgrade also includes the development of a new calculator called the Financial Tool. This new calculator uses farm and emissions information from the FarmGAS Calculator ST to conduct financial modelling for different emissions reduction projects.
Source – Aust Farm Institute

11. Farm-1: 4100ha Cattle & sheep NE Vic emissions output summary
Farm-1 is 4,166 hectares and consists of mainly alluvial river flats and mountain grazing land
The farm enterprises include a beef cattle breeding herd of more than 1,500 cows and a flock of 600 breeding ewes.
The Australian Farm Institutes FarmGAS Calculator estimated that the total annual greenhouse gas emissions from Farm-1 were 6, tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2-e)
The major greenhouse gas emissions output from Farm-1 was enteric methane from the beef cattle breeding enterprise.
The total greenhouse gas emissions from this farm were estimated to be above 6,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent
The major greenhouse gas emissions source was the beef cattle breeding herd
Source – Aust Farm Institute

12. Farm-1: 4100 Cattle & sheep NE Vic emissions abatement scenarios
Key points
Farm-1 is 4,166 hectares and consists of mainly alluvial river flats and mountain grazing land
The farm enterprises include a beef cattle breeding herd of more than 1,500 cows and a flock of 600 breeding ewes.
The FarmGAS Calculator was then used to compare three hypothetical project scenarios to the current farm operation (whole farm comparisons).
The greenhouse gas emissions scenario modelling estimated that the enterprise change to running more sheep and less cattle scenario provided the largest amount of greenhouse gas abatement. This scenario was based on the existing livestock characteristics and production factors for this specific farm
There were three scenarios analysed for this specific farm including a dietary supplement for cattle to reduce methane emissions, a general practice change for running more sheep and less cattle, and an environmental tree planting
The general practice change which involved running more sheep and less cattle was estimated to provide the largest amount of greenhouse gas abatement.
Source – Aust Farm Institute

13. Farm-2: 1500ha cropping & sheep emissions output summary
Farm-2 is an aggregation of farming properties that covers an area of 1,488 hectares and consists of mainly undulating cropping land NSW
The farm enterprises include a winter cropping rotation that plants 1,100 hectares of crops each year (including grain crops) and a flock of merino sheep with more than 2,800 ewes.
The FarmGAS Calculator estimated that the total annual greenhouse gas emissions from Farm-2 were 1, tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2-e)
The major greenhouse gas emissions output from Farm-2 was enteric methane from the sheep enterprise.
The total greenhouse gas emissions from this farm were estimated to be above 1,200 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent
The major greenhouse gas emissions source was the sheep enterprise
Source – Aust Farm Institute

14. Farm-2: 1500ha cropping & sheep emissions abatement scenarios
Farm-2 is an aggregation of farming properties that covers an area of 1,488 hectares and consists of mainly undulating cropping land
The farm enterprises include a winter cropping rotation that plants 1,100 hectares of crops each year (including grain crops) and a flock of merino sheep with more than 2,800 ewes.
The FarmGAS Calculator was then used to compare three hypothetical project scenarios to the current farm operation (whole farm comparisons)
The greenhouse gas emissions scenario modelling estimated that the environmental tree lot scenario provided the largest amount of greenhouse gas abatement.
There were three scenarios analysed for this specific farm including a general practice change for switching lambing from autumn to spring and weaning earlier, an environmental tree planting and nitrogen fertiliser inhibitor used in the cropping system
The tree planting scenario was estimated to provide the largest amount of greenhouse gas abatement
Although the scenarios for this farm showed relatively low amount of greenhouse gas emissions abatement, if all three scenarios were actioned at the same time then this farm would see an emissions reduction of 10%.
Source – Aust Farm Institute

15. Farm-3: 530ha grazing emissions output summary
Farm-3 is 530 hectares and consists of hill grazing land NSW
The farm enterprises includes a merino breeding flock of more than 1,200 ewes.
The FarmGAS Calculator estimated the total annual greenhouse gas emissions from Farm-3 were tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2-e)
The major greenhouse gas emissions output from Farm-3 was enteric methane from the sheep enterprise.
The total greenhouse gas emissions from this farm were estimated to be above 360 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent
The major greenhouse gas emissions source was the sheep enterprise
Source – Aust Farm Institute

16. Farm-3: 530ha Grazing emissions abatement scenarios
Farm-3 is 530 hectares and consists of hill grazing land
The farm enterprises includes a merino breeding flock of more than 1,200 ewes.
The FarmGAS Calculator was then used to compare three hypothetical project scenarios to the current farm (whole farm comparisons)
The greenhouse gas emissions scenario modelling estimated that the tree planting scenario provided the largest amount of greenhouse gas emissions abatement.
There were three scenarios analysed for this specific farm including a general practice change for switching lambing from autumn to spring and weaning earlier, another general practice change involving a fixed trading period for wethers and an environmental tree planting.
The tree planting scenario was estimated to provide the largest amount of greenhouse gas abatement.

17. FarmGAS Financial Tool and the Marginal Abatement
The Financial Tool requires data entry for farm business items such as overheads, gross margins and capital expenditure.
Annual monetary benefits, discount rates for the capital costs involved in the project and the project life in years are then used to generate a Net Present Value (NPV) for each project.
The net present value and the emissions reduction amount gathered from the FarmGAS Calculator ST then produce a Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC).
The Financial Tool allows up to eight projects to be compared on the MACC.
Source – Aust Farm Institute
study-videos
Contact : Adam Tomlinson
Once the FarmGAS Calculator ST data is entered and summary estimates for GHG emissions reductions for different scenarios compared to a baseline farm are generated, then the Financial Tool is ready for use. However for learning purposes it does not matter if these details are not entered as the Financial Tool includes three model comparisons for people using the tool to test on their own.
To assess the financial performance of farm scenario GHG emissions modelling that has be completed in the FarmGAS Calculator ST, then people using the Financial Tool will need to input financial information for each farm project scenario. The financial information for data entry includes overheads, gross margins and capital expenditure.
The Financial Tool will then use this information to calculate the net present value (NPV) for each project. The NPV’s are then divided by the emissions reduction amounts so that a marginal cost of abatement is generated.
The Financial Tool allows up to eight projects to compare either independently or on a cumulative basis. This comparison is shown in table format and on a visual display which is called a Marginal Abatement Cost Curve which is also known as a MACC.
The farm business case studies shown in this presentation did not use the Financial Tool as it was not developed at that stage. However, the Financial Tool would provide a decision support tool for these farm businesses if they decided to review carbon farming projects more closely for both environment and economic benefits.
The primary development of the FarmGAS Financial Tool was completed by the University of Southern Queensland (USQ). The online FarmGAS Financial Tool was a collaborative effort between the Australian Farm Institute and USQ and this project was supported by funding from the Australian Government.
Source – Aust Farm Institute

18. Melbourne University - Eckard et al..
Greenhouse Accounting Frameworks (GAF) for Australian Dairy, Sheep, Beef or Grain FarmsThe Dairy (D-GAF), Beef (B-GAF), Sheep (S-GAF), Feedlot (F-GAF) and Grains (G-GAF) Farm Greenhouse Accounting Framework Tools are freely available below as MS Excel spreadsheets.
These tools use the Australian National Greenhouse Gas Inventory (NGGI) method, to predict the magnitude and sources of Greenhouse Gasses emitted from a farm.
Note! CO2 are from fuel and Electricity is NOT attributed to the farm in the NGGI, or under the CFI, but have been included by popular request from users. Can download the spreadsheets and save the file to your computer.
Note! These products subject to change as the NGGI methodology is updated. Please check for updates.
- (D-GAF) Dairy GHG Accounting Framework V11.2 (updated and cleaned up May 2012)
- (B-GAF) Beef GHG Accounting Framework V12 (updated - updated Aug 2013)
- (B-GAFN) Beef GHG Accounting Framework V13N (extra livestock category added for northern beef; updated Aug 2013)
- (S-GAF) Sheep GHG Accounting Framework V6 (updated and cleaned up May 2012)
- (G-GAF) Grains GHG Accounting Framework V8 (updated and cleaned up May 2012)
- (F-GAF) Feedlot GHG Accounting Framework V1.5 (new prototype May 2012; please provide feedback)
- Excel file of example inputs for GAF calculators and comparitive emissions (download excel file)

20. Example – used for testing options for lamb producer…..
GHG Change
Time frame
Trees: Sugar Gum (151 ha), or P. radiata (49 ha), or Shining/Blue Gum (30 ha) (to offset emissions from 637 ha business as usual system)
Total offset
Now
Extra 20% lambing – same lamb production from fewer ewes
(frees up land for trees)
-100 t
Improved FCE (15% less enteric CH4)
-75 t
10 yr
Methanogen Vaccination (potential 15% less enteric CH4)
Long term
Higher tannin pasture species - winter/spring (potential 10% less enteric CH4 + 20% less urine-N)
-70 t
Preg Scanning (remove 10% dry ewes, 8 months)
-50 t
Improve feed quality - better grazing management & new varieties (+5% DDM in spring and summer) (5-10% less enteric CH4)
Medium
Inhibitors for N-Fertiliser (50% reduction in N2O)
-10 t
Dietary oils for feedlot finished lambs (20% less CH4 in feedlot)
-1 t (Wow!)

21.
Other Calculators and Tools
- FarmGas Scenario Tool - Australian Farm Institute online tool
- CFI Reforestation Modelling Tool (offical CFI environmental plantings tool - downloadable)
- DGAS CFI Dietary oils calculator
- DGAS (Dairying for tomorrow web site - uses the Dairy Greenhouse Accounting Framework - Excel)
- PigBal Version 2.14
- Vegetable Carbon Calculator (Veggie Carbon Tool web site - only available on-line)
- Horticulture Carbon Calculator (HortCarbonInfo) (HAL web site Excel)
- Banana Greenhouse Calculator (Hal web site Excel)
- Wine Industry Greenhouse Gas Calculator (WFA web site Excel)
- Cotton Greenhouse Gas Calculator (QUT web site)
- National Carbon Accounting Tool Box (FullCAM - Dept of Environment)

22. Comparison of calculators
FarmGAS
Sheep-GAF, Beef-GAF
Developed by
Australian Farm Institute
University of Melbourne
Latest version
2014
S-GAF V6 May 2012
B-GAF V11 Aug 2013
Cost
Free
Access
On-line only:
Excel tools available for download:
Brief description
Calculates GHG emissions from farm activities & runs “what-if” scenarios to compare the impact of management changes on GHG emissions.
Create awareness of various sources of GHG emissions on farm, to stimulate thinking and action aimed at reducing emissions while improving farming efficiency
Next 3x slides tables which are more detailed in workshop handbook.
Overview of the key tools available in the market
Leanne Sherriff – Macquarie Franklin
FARM300 National Coordinator

23. Comparison of calculators
FarmGAS
Sheep-GAF, Beef-GAF
GHGs assessed
Methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O). Also includes Carbon sequestration (C).
Methane, nitrous oxide and CO2
Enterprises/farm activities tool can assess
Livestock, cropping, feedlot, horticulture, pigs
Does not give emissions from energy (electricity & diesel)
C stored from tree plantings
Emissions from savannah burning will be NGGI compliant in the updated version (due July 2014)
Livestock
Nitrous oxide from N fertiliser used for crops or pasture
Energy emissions (electricity & diesel)
Emissions from savannah burning (B-GAFN)
Comparing different scenarios?
Simple to do.
No easy way to compare the numbers from different scenarios side by side.
Leanne Sherriff – Macquarie Franklin
FARM300 National Coordinator

24. Comparison of calculators
FarmGAS
Sheep-GAF, Beef-GAF
Financials?
Gross margin calculator. Total variable costs, total gross margin and gross margin expressed per DSE, per ha and per breeder.
This is based on data entry for all farm financials generally on a cost or income per head (averaged). No
Strengths
Whole farm - can evaluate the impacts of changing enterprises.
Simple, excel-based tool
Limitations
On-line system requires good internet connection while running the calculator.
No financials
Leanne Sherriff – Macquarie Franklin
FARM300 National Coordinator

25. Parting thoughts………
Direct emissions measures versus “indirect” eg shelter vs none, lamb %, crop/animal health etc – things you do for other reasons but have impact on emissions - don’t be afraid to test your own ideas! To date tools have been realm of scientists.
Early days – help us understand the issue and possible options down the track
Markets will drive agriculture growth (and which industries grow vs decline), our aim to make sure we’re at the “good” or “efficient” end of the range of food producers
Significant R&D commenced – long way to go – R&D has already improved the emissions factors for Australian & our conditions
Can compare year on year also for longer term story (eg John Marriot pilot tool)
Seasonal variability impacts on emissions story – same practices 2 years in a row won’t have same result – that’s the real world
Good place to start - Use tools to show typical farm emissions. Then can test scenarios.

26. Over to Cam!

28. Cropping calculator
Only have to do the data input sheet
Requirements
Crop type,
Area,
N use,
amount burnt,
amount removed,
diesel use,
electricity use (~30c/kwh)
Trees?
Outputs – CO2, CH4, NO2 converted to CO2 equiv

29. Livestock calculator (with some crop)
Only have to do the data input sheet
Requirements
Over 4 seasons
Livestock classes
Stock numbers
Liveweight change
FOO (DM, CP, DMD)
N fert on crop, pasture
Wool production (gsy, yield)
Area of crop & pasture, but no crop burning or removed option
N use,
diesel use,
electricity use (~30c/kwh)
Trees?
Does include agricultural soils (fate of urine, dung)

30. TASK
Understand the model – input & tabs
Feedback on what’s missing, what input data makes no sense / hard to get
Explore some scenarios
Feedback at end.