Carbon EDGE becomes a family affair

The team behind Rocky Springs Cattle Co is looking to stay a step ahead in the ever-changing carbon space.

Rocky Springs Cattle Co is owned and operated by the Schooley family. They run a mix of Herefords and Angus on their property near Mundubbera, Queensland, and have used MLA’s Carbon EDGE workshops to ensure they have the confidence and knowledge to apply changes on-farm.

Making carbon a family affair

After attending numerous EDGE workshops, Kylie Schooley recently participated in the Carbon EDGE workshop in Toowoomba, bringing her soon-to-be daughter-in-law Laura Rowney along, turning on-farm decisions around carbon into a family affair.

Laura Rowney is the partner of Kylie’s son, Kobi, and has been brought into the family business. After her experiences at other EDGE workshops Kylie thought it would be beneficial for Laura to attend Carbon EDGE as she integrates further into the operation.

Laura shares how she’s found joining both the business and the industry.

“It’s been so great coming into such an innovative industry, but no doubt it’s been a steep learning curve.

“In saying that, I’ve been so lucky to have the guidance of Kylie. She’s a wealth of knowledge when it comes to so many things and having the opportunity to learn from her is something I am so appreciative of.”

Digestible workshop content making it easier for producers

For Laura, attending the Carbon EDGE workshop was about learning the basics.

“As a newcomer to the industry and the carbon space, my hopes for the workshop were to learn the basics – something that I’ve definitely ticked off. The enormity of this space and its ever-evolving nature is very clear.”

Kylie agreed, stating, “It can be an overwhelming space, which at times can present itself in a complex manner.”

Even though carbon can seem overwhelming at first, Laura highlighted how digestible the Carbon EDGE deliverers made the content.

“The deliverers did such a good job delivering the definitions and the basic concepts.

“On day two of the workshop, we got to work through practical examples and activities of what we learnt on day one. These activities showed how we could apply what we were learning to our own property,” Laura said.

After being a part of the North Australia Beef Research Council in the role of chair for Southeast Queensland during the time Carbon EDGE was conceptualised, Kylie was keen to see how the concept had been brought to life. Once at the workshop, similarly to Laura, Kylie also enjoyed going through the practical applications and considering what they could change on their own farm.

“For me, the workshop gave me a way to work through all the theory and then use it to develop strategies that can be applied on-farm to stay ahead of the game,” Kylie said.

During the workshop, content is delivered to participants in various ways such as:

• workbook activities
• a hardcopy manual
• videos
• interactive and collaborative activities, as well as solo activities.

Laura said it was great to have this mix of activities.

“We did an activity where we got to sit down and list some goals for our business which related back to the content we had just learnt.

“The deliverers also ran us through the Sheep and Beef Greenhouse Accounting Framework (SB-GAF) and carbon accounting for our own business to make sure we were able to do it correctly.”

It’s all in the data

Both Laura and Kylie said that a big takeaway from the workshop was how important continual measurement is.

“What’s clear after attending the workshop is how important it is to measure and make sure we’re measuring enough.

“With that data we collect, we can prove our carbon status at any time,” Kylie said.

Laura agreed on the importance of collecting data.

“We’ve definitely come away from the workshop with a list of goals for the property. Data collation is one of the major ones.

“Once we’re collecting the right data and enough of it, it’s really going to help us to be on the right track with our own carbon journey and also to help make a difference on an industry level,” Laura said.

When asked if she would recommend the workshop to other producers, Kylie reinforced how important it is to stay ahead of the game when it comes to carbon.

“I think this is a space we all need to understand and be proactive in.

“All the information and research is coming in very quickly and eventually, we’ll have to prove our worth and produce less carbon emissions. I think it’s in the best interest for us as producers to be on the front foot.”