The CFI legislation will create a regulated marketplace for farm sequestration and mitigation activities, and farmers who voluntarily participate will earn offset credits which will be able to be sold to businesses that with to use those to reduce their total business emissions, or to claim carbon-neutrality for their products. In many respects, carbon offset production will for some farmers become one extra enterprise option available, bringing with it additional revenue and additional costs, new decisions about how to physically integrate the enterprise into a farm business, and the need for farmers to manage this enterprise in a way that adds to total farm profitability.
The Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) has been proposed by the Australian Government as a legislated mechanism that will enable farmers to generate revenue from the sale of greenhouse gas sequestration and mitigation activities.
The introduction of a carbon offset market for farms will have significant long-term implications, and will entail both opportunities and risks for farm business managers. The research detailed in this report is an initial attempt to gain some understanding of the issues the farm sector and individual farmers will need to consider as this new farm enterprise emerges.
This report was prepared with funding from Meat & Livestock Australia.
Full report, pp 1-30 (42 pages), April 2011
Australian Farm Institute
Authors: Davison, S, Keogh, M
(Web) ISBN 978-1-921808-09-8
(Print) ISBN 978-1-921808-08-1
