Red meat industry zeroes in on carbon neutrality

Australia’s red meat industry is “on track” to achieving carbon neutrality by 2030, with the sector having slashed its emissions by 53 per cent since 2005 according to Meat and Livestock Australia. MLA sustainability innovation program manager Doug McNicholl revealed the promising news at MLA’s MeatUp Forum at UWA last week. Mr McNicholl said the industry was well-positioned to meet its own target as set out in the CN30 project. “Our overall emissions as a sector has fallen by 53 per cent, and our contribution to national emissions has fallen 46 per cent. These are significant statements to make for Australia, but also internationally, and to really position the sector as being on track for a carbon neutral future,” he said. The Federal Government set 2005 as the baseline year for communicating progress following the United Nations Paris Agreement of 2015. Mr McNicholl said the red meat and manufacturing sector was the only major sector in the Australian economy to have reduced greenhouse gas emissions since 1990, when the international Kyoto Protocol was launched. “We can stand loud and proud as a sector and say that we’re the only major sector in the economy that’s made any emissions reduction of any note,” he said. “In fact, just about every other sector is either plateauing or increasing emissions over time.” As well as benefitting the environment, Mr McNicholl said meeting the outcomes of the CN30 project — which is being led by MLA with support from State and Federal Government agencies, producers, lot feeders and processors — would reward “climate smart producers”. For one, it would send the message to governments that there was no need for regulatory intervention in the sector. He said it would also ensure consumer and community support for the sector, secure ongoing access to high-value markets, and provide the opportunity for improved animal and land productivity. “If we do all these things well, it means increased revenue for producers, and we maintain our position as a trusted source of the highest quality protein,” he said. “That is a key aspiration and vision for the red meat industry under the Red Meat Advisory Council’s Red Meat 2030 strategy, and is a guiding principal for everything MLA does.” Mr McNicholl said the industry was investigating innovative on-farm technologies such as using tropical legumes in grazing systems that contained bio-additives to reduce methane emissions while enabling livestock productivity. Off-farm innovations included renewable energy technology that would convert waste from animal by-products into “high-value product opportunities for the sector”. “We’re also considering technologies that… convert methane that might be generated in organic waste management in processing facilities into energy for re-use in the plant,” he said. In the next three-to-five years, Mr McNicholl said producers should consider establishing deep-rooted, palatable pastures that persist throughout the year. “If they don’t persist throughout the year, the carbon stored doesn’t persist, so that’s an important thing to be factoring into your feed-based planning,” he said. “Consider what mix of pastures, legumes and trees you want to have on your farm in the future, and look at collaborative supply chain arrangements. “That doesn’t mean forming a co-operative, it means just being co-ordinated with your supply chain such that your story reaches the customer and we can continue increasing the value of sales as a trusted source of the highest quality protein by passing our story along the value chain. “You should also be thinking about how you’re supplementing livestock on your farm today and your approaches to doing that, and how they might be able to be adapted to incorporate some of these new feed additives.” Mr McNicholl said red meat production resided over about half of Australia’s landmass — or 355 million hectares — and that less than eight per cent of Australia’s landmass was suitable for other forms of agricultural production. “On one hand, there’s a great challenge we face as custodians of that land,” he said. “On the other hand, there’s a great opportunity for us to utilise that land for great environmental stewardship outcomes whilst producing nutrient-dense food.”