SOME industry experts said it could not be done, but in a major breakthrough for broadacre farming in Australia, the first Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) for soil carbon sequestration in a broadacre cropping system have been awarded and there are more to come.
Victorian cropper and hay contractor Luke Felmingham, Shepparton, has claimed bragging rights as the first broadacre farmer to receive 4077 ACCU’s via the Federal Government’s Clean Energy Regulator, while fellow growers at Kaniva, Birchip and Kaarimba in the state, as well as at Mundulla in South Australia (SA) and Goomalling and Warralakin in Western Australia (WA), also are set to receive carbon credits.
To avoid any upfront costs with his 158-hectare soil carbon building project, Luke committed 400 ACCUs toward the initial baseline testing required, leaving a balance of 3677, which, at the spot market price of $42.60, is valued at $156,640.
Luke and the other growers in Victoria, SA and WA have all worked with specialist, Adelaide-based fertiliser company, LawrieCo, to help increase their soil carbon levels and had their projects registered via soil carbon project developer, AgriProve.
LawrieCo has a strong track record of improving soil health and supporting sustainable practices in conjunction with growers, including assisting them to generate soil carbon credits that can either be held, sold to emitters or used to offset their own emissions and operate as carbon neutral.
Founder and marketing director, Olivia Grivell, said the latest soil carbon sequestration milestone was a major boost for broadacre cropping and a key step forward for sustainable farming in those regions.
“Breakthroughs in agriculture can often be overstated, but this really is a game-changer for farmers, also when you consider numerous scientists for years have said building soil carbon in broadacre cropping systems cannot be done,” Olivia said.
“Luke and all the other growers have demonstrated measurable soil carbon increases, showing what can be achieved whilst maintaining full farm production and how sustainable farming can create real environmental impact, as well as a valuable new revenue stream for them.
“Importantly for the farmers, the soil carbon gains will also provide long-term benefits, including enhanced soil health and moisture-holding capacity, improved drought resilience and greater capacity to withstand environmental stresses, benefitting their farm productivity and the value of their land.”
LawrieCo tailors the use of its carbon building products and various practices to the particular soil type and management needs, as well as growers’ budgets and crop rotations, and Luke used a range of the company’s bio-stimulant fertilisers in combination with his regular fertiliser regime.
He grows canola, lucerne, wheat, teff grass, ryegrass and clover north of Shepparton and he used the products in the canola phase of his program, following wheat.
The property mainly features shallow, loam topsoil over clay-dominant subsoil and it receives a high average annual rainfall of 468 millimetres.
During summer leading into the season, Luke buffered his traditional chemical program with LawrieCo’s F75 Fulvic product to reduce its impact on the soil biology and tie-up off-target spray within system.
Prior to sowing the canola, he had to contend with stubble from a five to six tonne per hectare (t/ha) wheat crop the previous year, which he lightly tilled with a speed disc before applying further products.
Digest Ready, a live biological ferment of cellulous digesting fungi, and Kicker, a fungi stimulant and food source, were applied by boomspray to help break down the stubble.
The canola seed was treated with SureCrop Prime, a bio-stimulant and microbial seed dressing that helps develops strong plant roots and biology to maximise carbon drawdown.
It was sown easily into the stubble with a disc seeder, and, in addition to MAP fertiliser applied at 100 kilograms per hectare (kg/ha), Humate Granule, which stimulates beneficial soil fungi, buffers synthetic fertilisers and promotes root growth, was included at 10kg/ha.
During the season, urea top dressing was supplemented with foliar application of LawrieCo Growth, a balanced nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus product, bio-stimulants containing fish, kelp and amino acids, and the company’s Boost trace minerals.
The urea also was treated with Enhance, a fulvic/bio-stimulant-based fertiliser coating designed to increase nutrient uptake and decrease leaching through the profile.
Luke invested around $80/ha in the products and they helped increase soil carbon levels by about 0.25 per cent in the top 30 centimetres, resulting in an extra 12.7t/ha of carbon and estimated net income of $990/ha, plus he is looking forward to the benefits of improved soil carbon and health.
“We were guided by LawrieCo to use products that suited our system.
"We have gone to (information) days to learn more about soil biology, but we count on LawrieCo and they have proven themselves.
"It’s turned out to be a good side-hustle,” Luke said.
“We are new in the soil carbon game and it’s evolving.
"I’m a good sceptic and a tough customer, but I was impressed with the results.
"The canola crop also performed very well.”
Luke has since added another 70ha soil carbon building project under production to canola and has used a similar mix of products.
He said the soil carbon projects and process for gaining ACCUs involved extensive work and it was important to partner with expert service providers like LawrieCo and AgriProve.
“You need to have all your ducks in a row and I appreciated third parties helping to do all the work,” Luke said.