We recently completed another independent baseline project for a grazier in Central West, NSW. The sheep and cattle operation property is around 270ha and the farmer wanted to understand his organic carbon levels without entering the formal ERF program for carbon credits. The farmer wanted to understand his carbon levels as he is interested in marketing carbon-accounted beef and lamb in the future.
A sampling plan using 1 CEA (Carbon Estimation Area) and 3 strata were developed with 5 samples per strata. The raw results returned carbon levels ranging from 0.4% to 1.4%(0-30cm) and 0.1% -0.6% at depth (30-100cm).
Total carbon stocks for the property were 15420 tonnes, with two of the three strata displaying higher carbon stock levels.
The cost for the ground truth sampling (at the ERF standard), analysis at a NATA-approved laboratory, and carbon reports was just $25 per hectare.
This information has equipped the farmer with accurate data to create a management plan, designed to improve his carbon levels over time. It will also allow him to resample at the same location in the future to monitor the change in his carbon levels.
N.B. The Australian red meat industry has set a target to be carbon neutral by 2030 (CN30). If you are interested in also understanding your carbon baseline levels in line with this target, please contact Precision Agriculture today.
