Low emissions workshops for Wimmera farmers

Helping farmers track and manage their carbon emissions will be the subject of free Wimmera workshops in March.

Bellarine Peninsula livestock producer and low-emissions farmer and educator Cam Nicholson will lead workshops at Great Western Hall on March 17 and Taylors Lake Hall on March 18.

Wimmera CMA is hosting the events, which will cover external factors driving the increased need to track emissions, emissions intensity versus net zero emissions, and how to lower emissions intensity in the short term.

The workshops will also highlight future innovations to reduce emissions, collecting farm data for accurate emissions accounting, the value of ‘knowing your number’ and how low emissions farming can benefit farm productivity.

Wimmera CMA Sustainable Agriculture Facilitator Bronwyn Bant said the goal was to help farmers identify opportunities to reduce emissions and benefit farm businesses.

She said they were pleased to bring someone with extensive knowledge of farm emissions to the region.

Mr Nicholson and his partner Fiona Conroy are heavily involved in low-emissions farming, and
have participated in multiple carbon-accounting projects on their farms and provided farmer representation to industry bodies such as Meat and Livestock Australia.
“Cam Nicholson is a trusted and knowledgeable ag communicator, particularly when it comes to emissions on farms,

“He is a valued information source for farmers, in part due to his practical approach, as well as his own experience as a livestock producer.

“Importantly, Cam and Fiona have demonstrated their farm’s carbon neutrality without compromising productivity or profitability,”

- Wimmera CMA Sustainable Agriculture Facilitator Bronwyn Bant
Wimmera CMA is presenting the workshops in partnership with Agriculture Victoria and Landcare Victoria, as part of the Carbon Farming Outreach Program funded by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. The program aims to support farmers and land managers in accessing accurate and independent information about reducing farm emissions, accounting and markets.