THE Queensland Government has released a 44-page document outlining potential on-farm activities under the Federal Government’s Carbon Farming Initiative.
The Carbon Farming in Rural Queensland document has an emphasis on already-publicised activities proposed by the CFI, which include reducing methane emissions from livestock, reducing savannah burning, carbon forestry, and managing emissions from soils.
It remains the case that for many farmers who operate intensive production systems, their options for participation in the CFI will be relatively limited. QFF is currently preparing its own analysis of the CFI, and will be working actively in this policy area in 2012.
Meanwhile, ABARES has released a report detailing the short-run impacts of the carbon tax, available here. This report shows a significant impact across sectors, and especially so for the dairy industry.
It reports that in 2012–13, the economic value of dairy farm production is estimated to fall by up to 4.3 per cent ($4200) and 1.1 per cent ($1080). These figures are estimated to increase to 4.7 per cent ($4580) and 1.1 per cent ($1090) in 2014–15, with the inclusion of freight in the scheme.