Carbon Farming Expo & Conference 2008

"It's very important that, if we're not going to have the whole of agriculture in an Emissions Trading Scheme, long before that we've got proper credits for the increase in carbon in soils," says Professor Ross Garnaut. Asked by ABC Rural Radio on Friday 5 September to nominate when trading should begin, he said: "As soon as possible." As for the usual objections thrown up against soil carbon, he says: "I don't think it's impossible to measure either the carbon in soils - the increase in carbon - or the vegetation on properties. It is going to be much easier if groups of farmers within a region band together so that you reduce overall costs in that way. But in the end we're going to need to develop satellite imaging, remote sensing and other new tech ways of measuring these things so we can get the costs down." He says scientific work on measurement 'should be given very high priority'. "The opportunity in the Australian countryside is very large."

DRAFT PROGRAM: SPEAKERS AND TOPICS

Conference Program

Day One: 18th November, 2008

8.30 – 8.40
Chair Introduction (Dr Andrew Rawson, DECC)

8.40 – 8.45
Welcome to Country (Wiradjuri Elder)

8.45 – 8.55
Welcome to City (His Worship, Mr Reg Kidd, Mayor of Orange)

9.00 – 9.30
The Global Food Crisis and Soil Carbon (Dr Rattan Lal by webcast) Why the world needs Carbon Farmers: A Message from Professor Rattan Lal (Videolink) - Soil is the beginning of the food chain. Without it, we cannot feel the world.

9.30 – 10.00
Local Communities Lead The Way (Carbon Townsville, Mayor) Local government in far north Queensland launches a voluntary soil carbon market that takes a radical approach.

10.00 – 10.30
Soil Carbon Worldwide (Louisa Kiely, Carbon Farmers of Australia) The first steps towards a global solution to the soil carbon dilemma were taken at a meeting in Indiana recently. China, India, America, and Australia are now working together to break the deadlock and bring soil carbon into the world market for offsets.

10.30 – 11.00
Morning Tea

11.00 – 11.30
The Question: For What Purpose? (Tony Lovell, Soil Carbon Australia) This presentation explodes the Australian soils measurement myth.

11.30 – 12.00
The Cost of Measurement (Dr Brian Murphy DECC) The cost of measurement is explored.

12.00 – 12.30
Reducing the Cost of Measurement (Prof. Alex McBratney, University of Sydney) A new method could see measurement costs plunge.

12.30 – 1.30
Lunch

1.30 – 2.00
Try Biology 1: The Biological Farmer With Data (Eric Harvey, Carbon Farmer, Guerie) This case is an example of how important recording key data is for making decisions easier.

2.00 – 2.30
Try Biology 2: The Carbon Farmer’s Experience (Scott MacCalman, Carbon Farmer, Warren) Highly-awarded for his innovative way of farming, Scott is on the frontier of cropping for carbon

2.30 - 3.00
Try Biology 3: Probiotics - Soil Carbon Superbugs or Snakeoil? Ken Bellamy (environmental entrepreneur and soil carbon enthusiast) reveals the secret to achieving a 1% increase in soil C in 2 years.

3.00 – 3.30
Afternoon Tea

3.30 – 4.00
Economic Benefit of Composts in Agriculture (Gerry Gillespe, Zero Waste Australia) High quality compost made from city-based greenwaste offers 12 major benefits for Carbon Farmers.

4.00 – 4.30
Soil Conditioners: Bentonite - The Economically Feasible Biochar?

4.30-5.00pm
Close Day 1: Andrew Rawson, DECC

7.00 – 10.00
Gala Dinner

Conference Day Two – 19th November 2008

8.30 – 8.40
Chair Introduction (Greg Chapman, DPI)

8.40 – 8.45
Welcome to Day 2 (John Lawrie, CW CMA)

8.45 – 9.45
Farming On The Frontier: Western Australia (Tim Wiley, Dept. Agriculture, WA) The west has been living with Climate Change for longer than easterners and have made drought-proofing methods part of daily life.

9.15 – 9.45
Farming on the Frontier 2: (Bob Wilson, Evergreen Farming Group, WA) Bob has seen the transformation of Western Australia’s agriculture from the inside.

9.45 – 10.30
Leading Carbon Farmers Report On The Year That Was (Prominent presenters from the 2007 Conference report on developments in their operations in the year just passed. (Cam MCKeller, Spring Ridge, and Col Seis, Gulgong, and Anne Williams, 2007 Carbon Cocky of the Year)

10.30 – 11.00
Morning Tea

11.00 – 11.45
The Catchment Calculator (Dr Jeff Baldock) A practical way to break through the measurement issues and make trade activity a reality.

11.45 - 12.30
Organic Carbon Farming (Andre Leu, Chairman, Organic Federation Australia) Is Organic Farming really the highest form of Carbon Farming?

12.30 – 1.30
Lunch

1.30 - 2.15
The Science of Farm Emissions (Dr Richard Eckard, University of Melbourne/DPI VIC) This presentation brings common sense to the emotional emissions issue.

2.15 – 3.00
The Management of Farm Emissions (Dr Bill Slattery, Acting Director, Emissions Management, DCCW) The Government’s expectations of Australian farmers.

3.00 – 3.30
Afternoon Tea

3.30 – 4.00
Soils and Trees and Carbon Markets: What Soils can Learn from Forests (Dr Annette Cowie)

4.00 – 4.30
National Soil Carbon Strategy (Michael Kiely, Carbon Coalition). The Soil Carbon movement has a plan to achieve its goal of seeing soil carbon traded and farmers paid for what they grow.

4.30 - 5.00
Close Day 2: Chair Dr Greg Chapman

THANK YOU

The Organisers thank all the Speakers for their valuable contribution, all the Delegates who travelled from all States of Australia, the Exhibitors who supported this event, and the Sponsors who made it possible. A special word of appreciation to the many CMAs who supported the Conference. And to the small band of committed individuals who are always there when there’s work to be done: Thank you.