On the way to carbon neutrality

By Jason Strong, Managing Director, MLA

A key part of MLA’s Strategic Plan is driving research and development projects to help the red meat industry achieve its goal to be carbon neutral by 2030 (CN30).

Carbon neutrality should not and does not need to come at the cost of livestock numbers or land productivity. CN30 is as much about building on-farm productivity and intergenerational sustainability as it is achieving zero net emissions from red meat production in Australia.

Cattle and sheep do not create the climate impact some people think they do. Those views have been formed because of mistruths, vested interests and intentional distraction from the sources of the majority of emissions.

MLA has recently announced the next round of investments towards CN30 thorough the formation of the Australian Red Meat Industry's Emissions Avoidance and Carbon Storage Partnerships.

Collectively, these partnerships aim to achieve a 20% improvement in livestock productivity, 50% reduction in enteric methane emissions in 5% of the herd and flock, and 15 million tonnes of CO2 stored within 10 m ha of Australian grazing land by 2025.

This body of work will see MLA working on more than 10 major new research and development projects, focussed on six key areas:

1. Forages,
2. feed additives,
3. livestock genetics,
4. trees for shade and shelter and edible shrubs,
5. leadership and training resources for producers and advisors,
6. digital farm management tools that enable producers to capitalise on market opportunities for low or carbon neutral red meat products.

The red meat industry in Australia is uniquely positioned to store carbon in the landscape – we are custodians for about half of the land mass of the country. The carbon storage partnership focuses on products that can build industry capacity and capability to increase carbon in the landscape, and then use that stored carbon to offset the emissions associated with their business, generate an additional income stream through the sale of carbon credits, either through a carbon project, or attached to a carbon neutral or low carbon branded product.

When it comes to emissions avoidance, what we feed livestock will play a crucial role in achieving carbon neutrality through bringing to market new additives and supplements that reduce the production of methane but also increase productivity.

MLA is also working with our partners to scope investment opportunities to develop practical, economic and effective delivery mechanisms for livestock supplementation products. These include the Biopolymer bolus: a fully biodegradable biopolymer that sits in the rumen delivering a sustained slow release of a methane reducing additive over a 6–12-month period, the delivery of water additives through remote water dosing technology and lick blocks that deliver a mix of compounds to reduce methane and improve productivity.

We are also developing breeding values for cattle and sheep - the output from this work will be the inclusion of low methane traits available in Lambplan, Breedplan, and other existing genetic selection tools.

All of these investments show a commitment from MLA and our partners to accelerate our journey to carbon neutrality for the red meat industry. It also shows what can be achieved when we collaborate effectively, all striving towards a common goal.