Gary Kadwell first started planting trees on his property as an eight-year-old with his grandfather.
“Pop said to me, ‘Gary, it takes a wise man a lifetime to grow a tree and a fool five minutes to kill one’,” Mr Kadwell said.
Forty years later, more than 400 hectares of his potato and sheep farm near Crookwell on the New South Wales Southern Tablelands have been dedicated to revegetation.
“Forty per cent of the property is now in ecological zones,” Mr Kadwell said.
“I have this belief that farming can’t be all one where it is all about production and taking things from the land.
“We have to look at our environment and do it sustainably but neither of those can stand alone.”
Gary Kadwell’s 13 hectare wetland. (ABC Central West: Hamish Cole)
Part of this work has involved the construction of a 13 hectare wetland that has brought platypus and other species to the farm.
“It is bringing in migratory birds that are now breeding here and using this as a stop off,” he said.
“It has created a place of peace on this property.”
Mr Kadwell has planted tens of thousands of trees across his property. (ABC Central West: Hamish Cole)
Benefits for the bottom line
Successfully applying for more than $100,000 in grants from local environment groups and government agencies has allowed Mr Kadwell to plant tens of thousands of trees.
Mr Kadwell grows 15 different varieties of potatoes. (ABC Central West: Hamish Cole)
It has resulted in an increase in production levels across his 4,000 ewes, and potato beds, and cut costs on chemical use by promoting insects.
“Our output of lambs, our potato yields and all the hay cuts we do has actually increased,” he said.
“I was taught to grow potatoes and put the harshest, nastiest chemicals out every day. If something moved, flew or jumped we nuked it.
“Now we encourage nature’s beneficial insects to keep our crops under control … there is enough there to keep them at bay.”
Mr Kadwell runs 4,000 sheep across his 1,000 hectare property. (ABC Central West: Hamish Cole)
Reducing methane
Almost three decades ago, Jon Wright started tracking the methane emissions produced on his cattle stud near Woodstock in the state’s central west.
The process involves feed bins that track the amount of food each animal consumes, which is then compared to its weight gain.
The data is used to calculate the methane produced from each cow to determine which animals are bred to improve the genetics of the herd.
The feed buckets measure how much food each cow eats to help collate data on methane emissions. (ABC Central West: Hamish Cole)
Mr Wright said this had resulted in a 15 per cent reduction in emissions from his cattle.
“We want animals to be producing as little methane for as much meat as we possibly can,” he said.
“We know efficiency is a genetic trait, we know there is a big variation within a population, and we know that it is a heritable thing so we can change it over time.”
It has resulted in Mr Wright saving tens of thousands of dollars per year on feed.
“The cost of feed is one of the biggest profit drivers in the business,” he said.
“If we can breed animals that are using less feed to produce the same amount of production, it adds to their profitability.”
Market demands
Lisa McFayden works with the On Farm Carbon Project, a NSW Department of Primary Industries initiative to assist farmers with reducing emissions.
Lisa McFayden assists farmers with reducing emissions through the On Farm Carbon Project. (ABC Central West: Hamish Cole)
The livestock sector is responsible for about 70 per cent of emissions produced within the agricultural industry, according to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
Ms McFayden believes there is a growing demand from consumers and suppliers for farmers to limit emissions from meat production.
“Consumers are asking for carbon neutral beef in the supermarkets … they will look at a low emission product over something that may be a higher emitter,” she said.
Consensus on measuring emissions
For projects such as planting trees, plants or improving soil quality, there are numerous carbon calculators producers use to prove how they have reduced emissions.
However, the same frameworks for measuring methane produced from livestock are not in place for the beef industry.
Woodstock cattle producer Jon Wright has seen a 15 per cent reduction in methane emissions from his cattle. (ABC Central West: Hamish Cole)
Mr Wright said governments, banks, scientists and farmers needed to come together to create an agreed way of calculating methane production.
“We just need that science around this is the change that you’ve made, this is how much emissions we’ve reduced and that equates to that amount of money,” he said.
Banks have started offering producers “green loans” with lower interest rates for farmers to invest in management practices to reduce emissions.
Mr Wright runs more than 1,500 head of cattle on his property. (ABC Central West: Hamish Cole)
Mr Kadwell has reaped the benefits of this, with the revegetation of his property now classified as an asset.
“Now looking at trees, revegetation areas, wetlands as natural capital and they will actually give you a value to borrow money against that,” he said.
“That has been a big shift.”
Ms McFayden says at a time when “everyone is looking at debt levels”, it is important landholders have a clear idea of what they can do on-farm to improve their finances.
“They are sometimes supporting the up-front costs for a carbon project … it is one of those increments that you are adding to your business with a cost saving,” she said.
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