Carbon farming at "Uamby"

MEMO TO THE TEAM

I think we are getting closer to a solution, after hearing Bruce's clarifications on Tuesday.

His document says: "Staged B Funding... up to $100,000... What outcomes are we paying you for? Stage B outcomes WILL INCLUDE on ground activities that: Reduce detrimental water flows in saline landscapes by the use of innovative farming (cropping and grazing) techniques that achieve triple bottom line results (ecological, social and economic)."

Key words: "on ground activities", "reduce detrimental water flows", "innovative farming (cropping and grazing) techniques", "triple bottom line results".

Our entry could be titled: Carbon Farming at Uamby. The strategy is to reposition us from being farmers who do a bunch of things to regenerate the ecosystem while farming to a farm operation totally focussed on growing carbon in the soil. That is our single-minded key point of focus and our single KPI. Everything flows into that concept and everything flows out of it. Simple.

We select our activities according to the 80:20 principle. Which 20% of our activities will give us 80% of our soil carbon solution?



We start building our whole of farm plan by mapping the property for soil types and topography. Then we take baseline carbon samples and have them analysed to establish our benchmarking process for both success of our farm management and possible carbon credits in future.

Soil sectors are targeted for different treatments, according to the soil carbon analysis result. Grazing management will be the primary tool used, supplemented by pasture cropping, to encourage deep-rooted perennial pasture growth. Mulching (using our mulcher attachment on the tractor) has proved very productive in turning long rank grass and thistle into fresh perennial growth. Shellacking (towing a weighted iron frame across tall standing thistle and foliage) is also useful in getting
dead matter into the ground before it oxidises. Kick start microbes may be needed in places. Stock handling practices can impact on ground cover, especially if sheep are walked rather than rushed and several attempts to get them through a gate are not needed. Revegetaion in wildlife corridors encourages diversity at all levels of the food chain.


Other techniques will be applied as they come available. Eg. the fungi that produces Gromalin, the insoluble organic carbon which is very stable and accounts for 7% of the world's soil organic carbon.

The demonstrated results will flow on to the triple bottom line thus:

Higher production - the stock carrying capacity (DSE) would increase signficantly. We are aiming at 100% increase.

Carbon credits - the carbon sequestered in the soils between our first baseline measurement and subsequent scores may be elgible for carbon credits which can be traded in the greenhouse emissions market. The concept of the carbon farm and soil carbon sequestration would be promoted by Uamby's activities.

Learning centre - it is envisaged that Uamby become a District Learning Centre where growers and the general community can come to learn about carbon farming. Meeting facilities and accommodation will be used to provide seminars and value-added farm stay experiences. The local indigenous community have shown an interest in conducting indigenous land use workshops on Uamby.

Environmental improvements - direct impacts of carbon farming include better usage of water where it falls, less erosion and runoff, less turbidity and silting in surrounding waterways, less salination, and greater diversity of microfauna and microflora, leading to greater diversity upthe food chain.