Free Standard AU & NZ Shipping For All Book Orders Over $80!
Register      Login
The Rangeland Journal The Rangeland Journal Society
Journal of the Australian Rangeland Society
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Down scaling to regional assessment of greenhouse gas emissions to enable consistency in accounting for emissions reduction projects and national inventory accounts for northern beef production in Australia

Sandra J. Eady A F , Guillaume Havard B , Steven G. Bray C , William Holmes D and Javi Navarro E
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A CSIRO, New England Highway, Armidale, NSW 2350, Australia.

B Formerly CSIRO, New England Highway, Armidale, NSW 2350, Australia.

C Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Rockhampton, Qld 4701, Australia.

D Formerly Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Townsville, Qld 4810, Australia.

E CSIRO, Ecosciences Precinct, Boggo Road, Dutton Park, Qld 4102, Australia.

F Corresponding author. Email: sandra.eady@csiro.au

The Rangeland Journal 38(3) 219-228 https://doi.org/10.1071/RJ15061
Submitted: 26 June 2015  Accepted: 11 April 2016   Published: 13 June 2016

Abstract

This paper explores the effect of using regional data for livestock attributes on estimation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the northern beef industry in Australia, compared with using state/territory-wide values, as currently used in Australia’s national GHG inventory report. Regional GHG emissions associated with beef production are reported for 21 defined agricultural statistical regions within state/territory jurisdictions. A management scenario for reduced emissions that could qualify as an Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) project was used to illustrate the effect of regional level model parameters on estimated abatement levels. Using regional parameters, instead of state level parameters, for liveweight (LW), LW gain and proportion of cows lactating and an expanded number of livestock classes, gives a 5.2% reduction in estimated emissions (range +12% to –34% across regions). Estimated GHG emissions intensity (emissions per kilogram of LW sold) varied across the regions by up to 2.5-fold, ranging from 10.5 kg CO2-e kg–1 LW sold for Darling Downs, Queensland, through to 25.8 kg CO2-e kg–1 LW sold for the Pindan and North Kimberley, Western Australia. This range was driven by differences in production efficiency, reproduction rate, growth rate and survival. This suggests that some regions in northern Australia are likely to have substantial opportunities for GHG abatement and higher livestock income. However, this must be coupled with the availability of management activities that can be implemented to improve production efficiency; wet season phosphorus (P) supplementation being one such practice. An ERF case study comparison showed that P supplementation of a typical-sized herd produced an estimated reduction of 622 t CO2-e year–1, or 7%, compared with a non-P supplemented herd. However, the different model parameters used by the National Inventory Report and ERF project means that there was an anomaly between the herd emissions for project cattle excised from the national accounts (13 479 t CO2-e year–1) and the baseline herd emissions estimated for the ERF project (8 896 t CO2-e year–1) before P supplementation was implemented. Regionalising livestock model parameters in both ERF projects and the national accounts offers the attraction of being able to more easily and accurately reflect emissions savings from this type of emissions reduction project in Australia’s national GHG accounts.

Additional keywords: carbon farming, phosphorus supplementation.


References

Ash, A., Hunt, L., McDonald, C., Scanlon, J., Bell, L., Cowley, R., Watson, I., McIvor, J., and MacLeod, N. (2015). Boosting the productivity and profitability of northern Australian beef enterprises: Exploring innovation options using simulation modelling and systems analysis. Agricultural Systems 139, 50–65.
Boosting the productivity and profitability of northern Australian beef enterprises: Exploring innovation options using simulation modelling and systems analysis.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2013). 7121.0 – Agricultural Commodities, Australia, 2010–11. Available at: www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/7121.0Main+Features52010-11?OpenDocument (accessed 26 June 2015).

Australian Farm Institute (2010). Updated FarmGAS Tools and Support Material. Available at: www.farminstitute.org.au/calculators/farm-gas-calculator (accessed 15 May 2015).

Australian Farm Institute (2014). ‘Carbon Farming Extension and Outreach: Case Studies For Farmers and Land Managers.’ (AF Institute: Surry Hills, NSW.)

Bray, S., Walsh, D., Hoffmann, M., Henry, B., Eady, S., Collier, C., Pettit, C., Navarro, J., and Corbet, D. (2015). ‘Desktop Research Project to Provide Data on Liveweight and Liveweight Gain in the Beef Cattle Sector in Queensland and the Northern Territory.’ (Queensland Government Department of Agriculture and Fisheries: Rockhampton, Qld.)

Broad, K., Bray, S., English, B., Matthews, R., and Rolfe, J. (2011). Adapting to beef business pressures in the Gulf. In: ‘Proceedings of the Northern Beef Research Update Conference’. pp. 176. (North Australia Beef Research Council: Darwin, NT.)

Carbon Market Institute (2015). Emissions Reduction Fund: Action results: April 2015. Available at: www.carbonmarketinstitute.org/knowledge/emissions_reduction_fund (accessed 2 June 2015).

Centre for International Economics (2013). ‘Australian Agricultural Emissions Projections: To 2050.’ (Centre for International Economics: Canberra, ACT.)

Charmley, E., Williams, S. R. O., Moate, P. J., Hegarty, R. S., Herd, R. M., Oddy, V. H., Reyenga, P., Staunton, K. M., Anderson, A., and Hannah, M. C. (2016). A universal equation to predict methane production of forage-fed cattle in Australia. Animal Production Science 56, 169–180.
A universal equation to predict methane production of forage-fed cattle in Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Cullen, B. R., Exhard, R. J., Timms, M., and Phelps, D. G. (2016). The effect of earlier mating and improving fertility on greenhouse gas emissions intensity of beef production in northern Australian herds. The Rangeland Journal 38, .

Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (2011). Breedcow and Dynama Software, DEEDI, Queensland Government. Available at: www.daf.qld.gov.au/business-trade/business-and-trade-services/breedcow-and-dynama-software (accessed 18 January 2016).

Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (2016). Australian broadacre zones and regions. Available at: http://apps.daff.gov.au/AGSURF/regions.html (accessed 18 January 2016).

Department of the Environment (2014). ‘National Inventory Report 2012 Volume 1.’ (Commonwealth of Australia: Canberra, ACT.)

Department of the Environment (2015a). Australian Greenhouse Gas Emissions Information System: National Greenhouse Gas Inventory – Kyoto Protocol Accounting Framework. Available at: http://ageis.climatechange.gov.au/ (accessed 22 December 2015).

Department of the Environment (2015b). Emissions Reduction Fund. Available at: www.environment.gov.au/climate-change/emissions-reduction-fund (accessed 22 December 2015).

Emissions Reduction Assurance Committee (2015). Notice to the Minister for the Environment under subsection 123A(2) of the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative) Act 2011, Draft Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative – Beef Cattle Herd Management) Methodology Determination 2015. Do Environment, Canberra. Available at: www.environment.gov.au/climate-change/emissions-reduction-fund/methods/beef-cattle-herd-management (accessed 20 October 2015).

Holmes, W., Sullivan, M., Best, M., Telford, P., English, B., Hamlyn-Hill, F., Laing, A., Bertram, J., Oxley, T., Schatz, T., McCosker, K., Streeter, S., James, H., Jayawardhana, G., Allan, R., Smith, P., and Jeffery, M. (2011). Representative Herds Templates for Northern Australia V1.00 – data files for Breedcow and Dynama herd budgeting software, Beef CRC, DEEDI (Qld), DAFWA and DRDPIF&R (NT). Available at: www.daf.qld.gov.au/business-trade/business-and-trade-services/breedcow-and-dynama-software/data-files (accessed 15 May 2015).

Jackson, D., Rolfe, J., English, B., Holmes, W., Matthews, R., Dixon, R., Smith, P., and MacDonald, N. (2012). ‘Phosphorus Management of Beef Cattle in Northern Australia.’ (Meat & Livestock Australia Limited: Sydney, NSW.)

McLean, I., and Blakeley, S. (2014). ‘Animal Equivalent Methodology. A Method to Accurately and Consistently Calculate Grazing Loads in Northern Australia.’ (Meat & Livestock Australia Limited: Sydney, NSW.)

O’Leary, D. P. (2009). ‘Scientific Computing with Case Studies’. (Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics: Philadelphia, PA, USA.)

Walsh, D., and Cowley, R. (2016). Optimising beef business performance in northern Australia: what can 30 years of commercial innovation teach us? The Rangeland Journal 38, in press.

Wiedemann, S. G., McGahan, E. J., Murphy, C. M., and Yan, M. (2016). Resource use and environmental impacts from beef production in eastern Australia investigated using life cycle assessment. Animal Production Science 56, 882–894.
Resource use and environmental impacts from beef production in eastern Australia investigated using life cycle assessment.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Winter, H. W., Coates, D. B., Hendricksen, R. E., Kerridge, P. C., McLean, R. W., and Miller, C. P. (1990). Phosphorus and beef production in northern Australia. Tropical Grasslands 24, 170–184.