Merinotech Open Day: Reducing carbon emissions a hot topic amongst farmers and industry representatives

As agriculture methane emissions get put into the spotlight, the Merinotech WA Poll Open Day defined how sheep production measured up in WA’s emissions intensity. The annual event held on October 13 brought more than 30 woolgrowers and industry representatives to Ian and Debbie Robertson’s farm in Kojonup to share in an open discussion format. The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development senior project officer Mandy Curnow said agriculture, including the belch from sheep and cattle was the contributing factor to about 9 per cent of the State’s methane emissions. Ms Curnow said missing from the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory reporting was the good work that happens across all the agriculture regions. She said although livestock contributed 70 to 80 per cent of all agriculture methane emissions, the total livestock value to the State had been rising while the industry emissions from 2005 to 2020 had declined by 37 per cent. “This fall in emissions has been mainly due to the decline of the sheep flock over that time,” Ms Curnow said. “We also get a more complete picture of agriculture emissions through the measured life cycle analysis — usually taken from inception including all input through to sale of product, including processing and transport.” Mr Curnow said WA agriculture was looking good at the moment compared with the State’s large energy sector. She said WA’s gas industry contributed 13 per cent of the State’s methane emissions through gas extractions and transport. “There is an inefficiency in gas industry which contributes more methane than agriculture,” Ms Curnow said. “At least with agriculture’s methane emissions, there is an important bi-product that involves producing food and fibre.” Ms Curnow said DPIRD Just completed its WA Sheep Industry Lifecycle Analysis at an industry level that covers from pre-farm gate to farm gate. “It includes fuel, fodder production, feed purchases, electricity and other on-farm inputs,” she said. “We looked at it from both wool production and a liveweight sheep production. “Wool is ranked high in emissions because it takes a sheep a full year to produce 5kg of wool, while there is more liveweight gain for sheepmeat production in one year’s growth.” She said the emissions intensity increased for wool as the flock got finer and was producing less wool. “Finer wool is a more valuable product but it uses more imputs,” Ms Curnow said. Australian Wool Innovation WA industry relations officer Tori Kirk said wool garments were worn up to nine times longer than synthetic garments. She said AWI was actively supporting the wool industry’s standards as benchmarked in the European Union’s Product Environmental Footprinting project which has scored wool and other natural fibre products poorly in emissions ratings as compared to synthetics. “Recently, AWI has received acknowledgement that the EU system is flawed, but this is happeing across the globe — what is acceptable and what is not,” she said. Merinotech WA Poll studmaster Ian Robertson said he would be considering reducing his farm’s methane emissions at the stud by means of moinitoring the Australian Sheep Breeding Values pertained to number of lambs weaned against the more practicle survival rate trait. “There are higher emissions of inputs when more lambs are born but survival rate is not equal,” he said. Ms Curnow said the other option for sheep producers was the use of a seaweed supplement asparagopsis that reduces methane by 70 per cent in sheep. “The drawback is it has to be fed daily in measured doses,” she said. “Currently this is not practical, outside a feedlot or dairy, in a pasture grazing system but commercial realites were being work on. “DPIRD will be organising workshops next season for farmers who would like to learn more about their carbon footprint.”