With recent questions over the legitimacy of the Australian carbon offset scheme, it’s never been more important that carbon emissions are offset with legitimate credits and are free of greenwashing.
Unfortunately, few offerings in the market consider the natural environmental variables faced by the landowners generating the credits, and have the data transparency and accuracy required to inspire confidence that the investment is actually achieving its drawdown goal.
But the recently-released Eco-Credit by ORICoop is addressing many of these key issues in the current carbon offset market.
The farmer-owned credits are backed by extensive data collection and have been developed in accordance with the conditions, biodiversity and operations of each farm they’re provided by. Their transparency of data and the ability to directly purchase Eco-Credits from each farm means investors avoid the greenwashing associated with other carbon credit offerings.
ORICoop EO Carolyn Suggate said ‘All farms are assessed as to their suitability for the program, based on their existing farming practices, the area of the farm and the intentions of future management.’
“We don’t want producers to be at risk from any carbon credit program, to overstate their carbon drawdown, or to be exposed by a natural disaster or severe weather event should the carbon levels in their soil or biodiversity decrease,” Ms Suggate said.
These limits are a key part of the design- providing investor security, and lessening the risk of overstating any values, especially following farming challenges or natural disasters that can negatively impact soil carbon improvement efforts such as the extensive flooding occurring throughout NSW and QLD recently.
“Through a collective of the credits, ORICoop’s specialist advisory committee oversees each of the credit applications and validation reports. This includes assessing the management practices, the land management zones, the footprint of the farm business plus the soil testing and results. For each project we determine suitable buffers that enable producers to bank a portion of their credits – the credits are validated annually, and depending on buffer limits, a portion is liquidated at the producer’s discretion,” Ms Suggate said.
Each Eco-Credit represents 1 tonne of CO2 drawdown, in addition the credits represent measures each local organic producer has undertaken to actively improve soil carbon, water efficiency and biodiversity within their properties and farming practices.
Michael Coleman, Managing Director of Box Forest Consulting, said the costly setup and operating design of the ACCU market may be resulting in poor outcomes for both producers and investors.
“If it turns out that ACCU projects are not delivering contracted reductions, despite high costs of participation, that’s the worst of both worlds. Hopefully the regulator will improve market integrity, and not just by adding more layers of consultant reports,” Mr Coleman said.
“A simpler, more transparent certification process, with low verification costs, can also offer greater integrity. Certification gets done and reported in a way all users understand and accept. Voluntary Carbon Markets (VCM) should be designed with that in mind, which is what ORICoop has set out to achieve.”
Iain Smale, of Pangolin & Associates, said the Eco Credit will be popular for investors by providing other options for carbon credits which also offer a local impact, which is especially important given per-capita carbon emissions in Australia are amongst some of the highest in the world.
“With the Eco-Credit, you’re having a bigger environmental impact than just a carbon credit,” he said.
The environmental impact of our producer operations is key for Australian-owned organic dairy processor & manufacturer Paris Creek Farms. Paris Creek Farms’ Marketing & Communications Manager Alex Donovan said they are committed to increasing the sustainability of their operations, actively working with their producers to achieve this with Eco-Credits initially playing a vital part.
“With bio-dynamic and organic practices, we’re already using one of the most sustainable and regenerative methods of farming in the world, but we are striving to be even more sustainable. Our ultimate goal is to have our farmers generating their own Eco-Credits,” Ms Donovan said.
Ms Suggate said there are many ways the agriculture sector is transitioning beyond net-zero, and that collaboration to improve trust, legitimacy and the urgency for improving how sustainably we produce food is vital, especially after considering the ‘business as usual’ impact on the environment and the urgency of our changing climate as seen recently by some of the worst floods in history.
“We need science to be well funded to enable technology to be more accessible and trusted across the industry. This includes the measurement capability, satellite data, plus legitimate footprint data for farms across all commodities,” Ms Suggate said.
“In the meantime, our organic farming ORICoop members are dedicated to measuring and validating their soil tests and farm footprint. As their credits are validated, these producers form part of the organic farming ecosystem that invests into best practice, research and sustainability programs through a legitimate farmer-led carbon credit based on international guidelines,” she said.
“That includes soil carbon and biodiversity, rewarding producers for sustainable land stewardship practices, while offering these credits to businesses looking to offset their carbon footprint with legitimate credits that are traceable back to each farm that has generated them.”
If your business is committed to achieving net-zero, offset your carbon emissions directly with credits you can trust – register here now.
It was the weather forecast we didn’t want to hear. More rain. Alot of it – measured in metres.. More incessant weather. Already rain-soaked pasture and farmland. Exhausted communities that have faced bushfires, previous floods and now the 2022 devastating floods.
My farming grandfather always told me he set aside a shed full of hay for that ‘bad year’ to share with a farmer in need, or to get his farm through a difficult patch. He had a flood plan farming on a floodplain. He also had a bushfire plan (as his upper area had bushland surrounding), he also transitioned and diversified his dairy farm to include other enterprises when the dairy sector failed. This was in 1960. Now in 2022 there has never been more pressure in farming to be resilient against every natural disaster, each year. We are ready.
ORICoop is an Organic Farmers Cooperative. We have organic and biodynamic producers across the country that connect and care about other like minded producers. We have done this before. We will do it again. In 2019 we raised over $100,000 in cash and grants, we more than trebled these funds through physical donations of hay, fodder and biological inputs, in-kind support and many generous supporters to bushfire affected producers, exceeding $500,000 of support directly to producers. This included fodder donations that went from a certified organic or biodynamic farm – to organic producers in need. Some may not have stayed in business if we hadn’t of been there.
It is seriously overwhelming. Tonight it has been detailed that 2,000 of 3,500 homes in Lismore may be uninhabitable. What does that mean for these communities? For these families. For local producers. And what about the landholders who are yet to reclaim their land – or wait for the flood waters to recede as their crops are under 3m of flood water. Some have lost their entire herd. Or have nowhere to house them while the land recovers? There is much to do….. We are ready….
We know it’s a long road back. However we have these producers’ backs. We are a Producers Cooperative. We have other producers that know what natural disasters look like. They have been there before. Sometimes it’s a phone call. Reaching out to ask ‘R U ok’? How can we help? What do you need?
** For existing organic or biodynamic producers interested to donate fodder, agistment, seeds or other farm related generosity –contact us directly HERE
We call on the Federal and State Government to support these communities, producers and businesses in their journey back. How can Australia better support these at-risk communities for the long term. To distribute the risk from consumers and business – and to empower producers to transition to climate resilient farming systems. These communities cannot carry this burden on their own. We believe it is a national responsibility – to carry the burden of natural disasters. To build a pool of resources and people that can help when it’s needed. And fast. We all need to understand the call of the new normal. Sadly this is not as it has been.
We are so incredibly proud of the producers that we have supported previously. Of their courage to keep going. Of their willingness to accept offers of help. For the organic producers that have contacted us to donate hay, fodder or agistment. And the many people that have shared our posts, helped us with marketing, or raised funds in your business. We thank you.
Sandra – Plateau Organics, NSW, Bushfire Survivor
Help when help was needed. The right help, compassion, and commitment for those of us who faulted amongst the bushfires
Stephen & Jo-Ellen Whitsed, Corryong, Victoria, Bushfire Survivors
After the devastating 2019 bushfires in Corryong, ORICoop contacted us to offer help. We needed hay and they organised two Semi Trailer loads of certified organic hay for us which was fantastic. From that a great friendship has been formed with Carolyn and other ORICoop members and organic producers.
Cooperatives are an old way of doing business. The old way. That care about each other. Look out for each other. Share the wins. And the losses. Be there for your neighbour. We endeavour to return this to farming. In everything we do.
Join us today.
Thanks for your support. And kudos to all those affected. We send you strength.
ORICoop Board
The Eco-CreditTM scheme was created by the Organic and Regenerative Investment Cooperative (ORICoop), which aims to unite the food value chain and increase the uptake of organic and regenerative practices across Australia by increasing collaboration between farmers, businesses and consumers.
Eco-CreditTM buyers can now offset their existing carbon footprint, with full transparency as to where and how each credit is generated and determine other environmental co-benefits, by visiting https://www.organicinvestmentcooperative.com.au/services/Eco-Credit
Each Eco-CreditTM represents 1 tonne of CO2 positive emission drawdown, validated annually through rigorous testing, and are provided by ORICoop’s organic, net-positive regenerative farmers who run diverse farm businesses including dairy, cropping, livestock and mixed farming systems.
ORICoop EO Carolyn Suggate said that the Eco-CreditTM concept was developed by ORICoop in conjunction with farmers looking to advance farm system approaches to provide safe, secure and affordable food with a regenerative ecological impact.
‘The scheme links those farmers to external buyers, be that corporate, small business or Mum’s and Dad’s keen to play a role and do their bit in fostering sustainable practices and reducing their own carbon footprints’ Ms Suggate said. To activate carbon drawdown urgently we need all contributors to be empowered to participate.
Victorian farmer Stephen Whitsed is the first ORICoop producer to offer Eco-CreditsTM to the market, and aside from the environmental benefits can see immediate environmental, CSR, and other economic benefits for businesses, producers and local communities.
”It’s an environmentally-friendly credit that rewards organic producers and builds stronger connections between businesses and our on-farm practices that enable carbon benefits to be exchanged. As organic producers we are looking forward to demonstrating our on-farm practices that are increasing carbon drawdown and legitimise better environmental stewardship for the long term,” Mr Whitsed said.
Mr Whitsed said the Eco-Credit process is straightforward for farmers and ‘definitely beneficial’ to his farm and environmental management, and hopes investors will benefit from their transition beyond net-zero and the planetary impact.
“The validation process is through soil testing every year, including GPS points to ensure we soil test in the same place every year. Following that we send the soil samples to a laboratory to be tested, and wait for the results,” he said.
Farmer and organic industry advocate and researcher, Greg Paynter, sees a range of benefits the Eco-Credit scheme will provide, including environmental and ecosystem functioning, farm viability and improved social and mental health outcomes for farmers where stress is alleviated by the additional revenue stream provided by the scheme as a reward for best practice land stewardship.
“It’s a dividend that doesn’t come from production output, it comes from a different stream, the productive and regenerative capacity of the land,” Mr Paynter said.
“In Australia, we are striving for $100 billion worth of production from agriculture annually, but our understanding of the research that comes out of Canada, a very similar country to Australia, is they produce that amount, but 98% of it goes into the cost of production or services to provide that production, so the net profit or return on investment of effort is not very high,” he said.
“But if you value land stewardship and make it worth something, the production of food or fibre you get from the land is a reward and you do it in a manner of organic and regenerative production systems, that conserves the basis of the production system into the future. There is talk of only 60 harvests left in some places in Europe and the soil will be destroyed, so we need to act with urgency – and what the Eco-CreditTM does is offer an incentive to do something whilst still maintaining a living.”
Fourth generation Western Australian farmer and agroecological farm system advocate Mr David McFall said the Eco-CreditTM project links businesses who want to do better, and rewards practices to adjust to the changing climate that are not seen to be outwardly ‘commercial’, especially natural capital management like tree planting, increasing biodiversity and soil carbon and water works for habitat and land cooling.
“This is one mechanism that is farmer-derived and farmer-led. It ticks the boxes in terms of accessibility and linking people who have capacity with people who want to do things in the landscape,” Mr McFall said.
“It’s a journey we’re doing for very practical reasons, there’s farmers like Stephen Whitsed and myself who want to do better, but the ‘do better’ that’s asked of farmers is not necessarily an upfront conventional outcome. So this mechanism takes the risk out of the investment and becomes a shared journey as it connects people who want to see good done, but are perhaps urban-based or don’t have access to land, develop partnerships with a farmer,” he said.
“Each farmer is motivated at different levels, and the intelligence behind this system is that it’s not just carbon, it’s approaching it from an ecosystems services platform – that’s embracing revegetation, and in time will embrace cleaner water and air, and keeps toxic substances out of our food and agricultural production systems.”
Iain Smale, of Pangolin Associates, feels the release of the Eco-CreditTM will be popular for businesses, providing alternative options for carbon credits. He also expects they will raise awareness of the growing organic and regenerative agricultural industry in Australia working to capture carbon and mitigate the key drivers of climate change, which is especially important given per-capita carbon emissions in Australia are amongst some of the highest in the world.
“With the Eco-CreditTM, you’re having a bigger environmental impact than just a carbon credit,” Mr Smale said.
“Australia as a nation in the developed world has close to the highest per capita emissions. Per person it’s around 23-24 tonnes, NZ is around half that, and a lot of Europe is less than half that. It’s because Australia has two main drivers – we’re heavily reliant on fossil fuel, coal and gas generation and it’s the tyranny of distance – people have a lot of transport miles, including for heavy transport, trains and trucks, and we don’t have any high speed rail, so much of our economy is based on fossil fuel,” he said,
**. To buy Eco-CreditsTM, register HERE
** To follow the Eco-Credit journey of this and other farms click HERE
Eco-Credits is a nationwide scheme open to organic and biodynamic producers. Other ORICoop farmers will shortly be stating their pledges and looking to develop partnerships with businesses and processors associated with their farm.
Have you felt weary the last few weeks? As a conscious citizen, a local business owner, a producer – it has started to wear even our strong guards down. When will this end? How will this end? And what does this mean for the future of our our families and the economic pain that is felt across the country currently. To offer hope here are some key actions we can all take.
* Is healthy organic food expensive? Or is industrial food just too cheap?
What is the ‘true cost’ of healthy food? Or the cost of unhealthy food in terms of long term sickness? Organic food is closer to the ‘true cost’ of food production – the sad part is that the industrial food system has deceived us that industrial food is cheap, bulk and does no harm. Harm to humans. Harm to our health. And harm to the environment in which it’s grown. Investing into organic food is not about gourmet products. It’s about avoiding the ‘Dirty Dozen’. It’s about investing in the type of farming that you want to feed your family. Would you go camping in a cattle feedlot? Or in the middle of a broccoli patch that is sprayed every few days? Or eat flour that has been desiccated (sprayed) just days before harvest? Every time we invest in healthier food, we are investing in a healthier planet, healthier farmers, and ultimately healthier food.
* And what about the environment in which our food is produced?
Have you considered the downstream externality cost of an industrial food system on the environment? Where food is mass produced in monocrops. That requires higher levels of toxic sprays due to the increasing pest and disease burden. Higher levels of artificial nitrogen that over stimulate growth causing further health issues for the plant. And lacking nutrient density as it’s force fed an unhealthy high ‘N’ diet. Rather than naturally grown, and naturally fertilised organic food. And where do all these toxins and artificial inputs end up? In our water systems? Have you wondered why we have such extreme levels of blue green algae? Why the Great Barrier Reef is under such environmental pressure. We only have one planet and without adjusting our food and farming choices – we are destroying our top soil and our planet quicker than we realise.
Some may say organic farming cannot feed the planet! Ask the question – just how much land in Australia is wasted? How much is not fully utilised, or multi-layered to produce more food and give better resilience to farm businesses. Should Australia be focussed on growing more and more and more. Or should we be considering growing healthier, more nutrient dense, more regenerative, less environmentally damaging and healthier food for our communities. What if there is a peak oil limit and access to phosphorus or nitrogen in artificial forms becomes financially unsustainable in the next decade? Perhaps now is the time to transition our thinking to regenerative farming systems that circulate our agricultural economy, including waste and nutrients and lessen farmers’ dependence on expensive unsustainable external inputs. Organic and regenerative farmers are strategic masterminds. They regenerate the land with minimal external resources. They read their soil and meet the needs of the land. Without a chemical bucket list. And use their livestock and natural resources to grow nutrient dense food while regenerating the land. How about you?
From Calvin – an organic grain producer from South West Victoria. His deep concerns regarding the increasing COVID virus lockdowns, increasing levels of cancer and other serious health problems. Plus the planetary boundaries and climate resilience. See his reflections here….
I, along with others see the urgent need to find the CAUSE of these events and DO SOMETHING TO PREVENT AND LOWER THE FREQUENCIES OF THESE HAPPENINGS. SOMEONE NEEDS TO START SOMEWHERE. The time is now.
I feel that over the more recent years, farmers have been convinced to apply more and more dangerous chemicals so as to increase production and yield.
Farmers are paid for quantity NOT quality .
In the process of increasing production, by applying these chemicals, this process has most likely killed off almost ALL the natural soil life necessary for balanced nutrition in our food. Nature tries to build up life in soils, but a couple weeks later, another spray is applied to kill weeds etc and microbes again. Most soils in my local area have zero soil life and very little air left to allow microbes to live .
There is a varying degree of soil hardness in my area, but some farms it is now almost impossible to dig a 4 tine garden fork any more than 2 inches into the ground, even by jumping on it [maybe it would be more profitable to make bricks in these areas ]
In my opinion, the answer is in convincing farmers to use an intense program of cover cropping and applying healthy microbes [which is much less costly than the presently used fertilizers].
Further, I feel that there are enough farmers [grain, horticulture, fruit, dairy and beef to supply Australia’s food requirements for “CLEAN” food. The other can be sold overseas to hungry nations. Food security has never been such a national issue as right now. With closed borders and transport delays.
Are we to wait until further epidemics evolve and more climate change, or can we make changes now?
I know it’s a difficult question, however we need to start somewhere, and the epidemic is making it even more urgent.
ORICoop connects Organic and Biodynamic Farmers that demonstrates the direct relationship between healthy food, healthy farms and a healthy planet. Did you realise that organic agriculture is a leader in addressing these key questions of food security, planetary boundaries and healthy people?
The Way Forward
So what does this mean for us? Supporting organic and biodynamic producers has never been more critical as now. At ORICoop we encourage more producers to transition to biological farm systems. We know it takes time. We can assist with connecting with your local organic producers. We know to balance supply and demand – we need more businesses to invest in more locally grown, Australian produce. Not cheap imported food. Whether organic or conventional.
Agriculture has been a massive rebound for Australia’s economy in the past. It has been a place where you could always find work, a living, and raise your family. It can this time as well. If you are interested to be involved in the most exciting area of agriculture – in organic food systems, or organic farming. Contact us to find out how! We have producers looking for the next generation of farmers. Now more than ever!
* National Organic Awards – vote for your favourite organic business HERE
* Did you know it’s Organic Awareness Month? Here are ways you can be involved in raising awareness of all the reasons why Organics is better for you. For your family. For the planet. And for organic producers.
And if you are not already an ORIcoop member make sure you join ORICoop HERE. And encourage as many others as you can to also join. Don’t forget that the power of numbers to make change is very strong. Together we are stronger.
(And subscribe to our blog here for our next updates)
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#organicawarenessmonth
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#healthandwellness
In the Lenswood Hills of South Australia, this organic farmer of 50 years, combines 6 generations of farming knowledge with an insatiable curiosity and a desire to genuinely observe the apple and cherry trees he stewards for a commercial bounty. He is somewhat of an apple whisperer and far from his self title of being a “silly old bugger on his soapbox” his kernels of wisdom are graceful, gentle and shred only if you desire them.
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As a farmer with a 32 year history of organic avocado production in the mid north coast, Sandra is the matriarch of a family business that experienced 2 solid years of drought as the entree to the summer fires that decimated both her orchard properties. Ever the optimist – despite high levels of trauma, she held her mettle for the sake of those around her and continued steadily, one day at a time. Despite the devastation, there are definitely silver linings and with a galvanised desire to continue farming she is leaving a legacy of knowledge we are all grateful for.
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