A progressive grassroots farmer group is getting its region ready for carbon emissions accounting and is set to host carbon specialist Richard Eckard next week to help farmers crunch the figures.
The workshop, organised by Gippsland Agricultural Group, aims to get farmers their baseline number, in-line with Meat and Livestock Australia's target for the red meat industry being carbon neutral by 2030.
GAgG general manager Jen Smith said the group had been working with The University of Melbourne and MLA to try to better understand how farms could be carbon neutral by the 2030 target.
She said Dr Eckard and his team would guide farmers through completing the MLA Carbon Emissions Calculator for their farm.
"Producers can't just put their heads in the sand about this issue," Ms Smith said.
"We need to gain the skills and the confidence to be able to track our carbon annually.
"While there is still ambiguity around what the accounting framework will look like and how it will work, what we do know is we'll need to know our baseline carbon emissions number."
Ms Smith said the sooner farmers crunched their figures, the sooner they could get back to farming.
Dr Eckard has been a guest speaker at the GAgG-run Gippsland Red Meat Conference for the past two years.
"Richard Eckard is one of the most pragmatic, scientific voices in this space in the world," Ms Smith said.
"We are absolutely chuffed to have him back in the region to shift the dial and action things around carbon emissions for farmers.
"He has a very practical way of sharing complex concepts around carbon and emissions... he breaks it down and makes it easy to understand."
Attendees must register and once they do, they will be sent a list of information required for the day.
That information includes cattle and sheep livestock numbers, an understanding of their growth rates, plus fuel, fertiliser and electricity inputs.
"Regardless of anything else, the very first and most important step to be ready for 2030 is knowing your baseline carbon emissions number," Ms Smith said.
The workshop will take place Tuesday, March 26, from 9am to 4pm at the Wellington Shire Council offices on Foster Street, Sale.
Click here to register or phone 0409 436 133 for more information.
