New baseline tool launched to help manage farm carbon emissions

Launched at the CommBank 'Nose to Tail' dinner at Beef 2024 in Rockhampton, Qld, on Sunday evening, the partnership recognises how industry is seeking to better understand how the global transition to lower carbon might impact on rural businesses.

Ruminati PRIME includes an emissions calculator and scenario planner, which enables producers to calculate a baseline and model farm activities to help reduce net emissions while building long term resilience and profitability.

Agribusiness general manager Natasha Greenwood said it was recognised that every farming enterprise would have its own goals in relation to transition depending on its capacity to make changes in farming practices or to adopt new technologies.

"It is, however, important that we provide customers with the option of understanding their starting point through baseline measurement," Ms Greenwood said.

"This starts the conversation around what activities can be considered, what would be of benefit to that enterprise, the investment required and return of those activities, and how can we help finance them.

"The potential for impact is great, as strategies around herd management, grazing and pasture management practices, increasing shelter belts, and reduced input usage and management are aligned with improving both the economic and environmental outcomes for Australian farmers."

A pilot program involving 50 livestock and mixed farming operations in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and Tasmania was successfully trialled earlier this year.

Central Queensland cattle producers David and Ruth Jones, Somerby, Rolleston, said access to Ruminati as a platform for a baseline and "getting our number" was not as daunting as initially thought.

"Once we gathered figures relating to our total usage for the year, navigating the website and entering our data was a walk in the park," the Jones said.

"From there, we found the information very easy to understand to see what decisions we could make that would have a direct impact on short and long term trend indicators.

"Since undertaking the pilot, some of the abatement activities we've begun trialling include introducing bio-fertiliser in our cropping enterprise and strategically selecting areas in grazing paddocks to return to their natural state".

Ruminati co-founder and farmer Bobby Miller said the pilot had demonstrated the appetite producers had for tracking and managing emissions.

"They're not just interested in emissions data," Mr Miller said.

"They're digging into the Ruminati platform to understand ways to manage their emissions and make real changes on their property.

"Within the ag industry we're witnessing a real paradigm shift in emissions management, with a greater emphasis being put on practical strategies and measurement.

"We're proud to be working with CommBank on setting the gold standard for emissions tracking that supports and informs both producer and industry targets."

CommBank will make Ruminati PRIME available on an opt-in basis to its agribusiness customers around Australia from July.