Carbon Neutral Agriculture Training

Australian state and territory governments have adopted a target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050. As agriculture is a major contributor to those emissions, it faces significant challenges in meeting these targets.

Registration now open

Background

This course has been put together due to significant demand from the Australian agricultural industries and the banking sector, following most multinational agribusiness companies and financiers setting carbon reduction targets for their supply chain in response to international agreements. Carbon neutral agriculture now appears an inevitable future outcome. This course deals with: the source of the drive, defining carbon accounting and carbon neutrality, where these emissions sources and sinks exist in our farming systems, how we account for these, and the options to reduce emissions of methane and nitrous oxide, and store more carbon in soils and trees. The end of the course takes participants through a carbon audit of a property of their choice.

Outline

The table below provides an outline of core course elements.

Part 1 Modules	Topic	Time required	Content
1	Introduction Professor Richard Eckard	~60mins	Policy and government drivers: Global policy environment driving emissions mitigation, Australian policy, Carbon Farming and carbon offsets Industry and market drivers: Supply chain responses and drivers of carbon neutral food production
2	Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, sources and sinks Professor Richard Eckard	~60mins	Global and national emissions and where agriculture fits Industry level emissions and comparative emission profiles Methane, nitrous oxide and carbon sinks on farms Radiative forcing and metrics
3	Introduction to carbon farming and carbon neutral agriculture Professor Richard Eckard	~60mins	Definitions of carbon account, carbon footprint, carbon neutral The carbon cycle in agriculture Carbon accounting – the concept, basis and method Carbon offset methods available for agriculture
4	Methane Professor Richard Eckard	~60mins	Trends, sources and agriculture Principles of rumen digestion and methanogenesis Measurement and methods Mitigation options available and in-progress
5	Nitrous oxide sources, implications, and mitigation options available Professor Richard Eckard	~60mins	Trends, sources and agriculture The nitrogen cycle in agriculture Measurement and methods Mitigation options available and in-progress
6a	Sequestration: Soil carbon - benefits, limitations and options available Professor Richard Eckard	~60mins	Sampling and measurement of soil carbon (SOC) Benefits of soil organic matter (SOM) Limitations to building SOM and SOC Sequestration pathways available
6b	Sequestration: Trees on farm - benefits, limitations and options available Professor Rod Keenan	~60mins	Benefits and limitations of trees on farm Accounting and crediting trees on farm

Part 2	Topic	Time required	Content
Online	Zoom Webinar - live training	4 hours	Farm data and carbon auditing requirements Developing carbon accounting and farm footprint

Further information

For further details and to apply for the course, please contact the Customer Support Team via the details below and they can advise of the next available course:

•            Call us: +61 3 8344 0149
•            Email us: carbon-neutral-agriculture-training@unimelb.edu.au
•            Contact hours:
•            Monday to Friday 8am to 7pm
•            Saturday 9am to 5pm