Carbon Farming - Organic Farmers Store More and Cost Less
Queensland's peak conservation group, Queensland Conservation (QCC) has aligned with Australia's largest organic representative body, Biological Farmers of Australia, to re-instate claims organic farm methods can contribute to lowering Australia's greenhouse emissions by locking up more carbon in soil.
They also say organic production will become more competitive as oil and fertiliser prices climb.
As part of its Climate Change Campaign, Queensland Conservation has referred to an extensive thirty year scientific trial by the Rodale Institute in the US which found that organic practices can remove around 7845kg of carbon from the air for each hectare farmed per annum by sequestering it in the soil.
The study found that, "if all 175 million hectares of cropland in America were converted to organic practices, it would be the equivalent of taking 217 million cars off the road - or, more than a third of the world's automobiles."
Jerry Coleby-Williams, Queensland Conservation board member, says the research (first published in 2003) has relevance in Australia.
"Applying similar carbon sequestration results to those found in the Rodale study, an Australian farm with an average cropping area of 710 hectares, could sequester 5500 tonnes of carbon each year," he says.
"There is a total of about 50 million ha of periodically cultivated soils in Australia, representing the potential for at least 390 million tonnes of captured carbon per year."
And he says in the face of rising oil prices organic production combines ‘eco-friendly' with ‘cost-effective'.
"Research has shown organic farms can return higher yields over a longer period with less dependence on oil-derived fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides. 'This puts organics at an advantage as cheap and plentiful oil comes to an end," he says.
Soil consultants claim fertiliser application can be reduced by 20-30pc on farms that are committed to restoring soil health via natural methods.
Mr Coleby-Williams says organic farm techniques deserve greater consideration from governments in the development of emissions mitigation policies.
"They are a simple and effective means of reducing Australia's carbon footprint. Here in Queensland we could sequester 13pc of the state's total carbon emissions by converting our croplands to organics."
How is carbon stored?
Organic farm techniques facilitate increased carbon storage by helping accumulate higher levels of humus. Commonly referred to by farmers as "black gold", humus is a stable form of organic matter that remains in soil after prolonged microbial decomposition, and is an ultimate indicator of healthy soil. Carbon can be contained in stable humus fractions for more than 1000 years.
Dr Andrew Monk, BFA Standards Committee Chair said humus is well-known for its moisture retention and resilience in extreme weather conditions.
"Resilient soil has been a saving factor for many producers during recent droughts periods," he said.
But he said while the cost benefits of using no synthetic fertilisers in organic farms would increase in the future, organic farmers currently shouldered the costs of carbon efficiencies without formal compensation.
"In the twenty years since the formal inception of organic farming in Australia, organic farmers have internalised the costs of a production system that provides some great environmental benefits," he said.
SOURCE: Queensland Country Life
6/5/08
