It has been a learning journey for all the challenges and opportunities in addressing carbon emissions within agriculture. The carbon series may be concluding, but it serves as a starting point for ongoing conversations and deeper exploration of carbon-related issues (and opportunities) in agriculture. This final episode wraps up with a focus on the following: 
The ‘transition zone’ 

• Exploring tools and opportunities for farmers
• Hurdles in adoption and implementation 
• Due diligence in toxicology
• The biggest lessons so far from Australia's carbon journey

Series sponsor
This series is sponsored by Ruminati, an online emissions calculator created by farmers for farmers. You can learn more about their solution here, show notes or by listening to all episodes in the 4 part series, plus a bonus episode with Ruminati founder, Bobby Miller.

Disclaimer: The information shared as part of this carbon series is general in nature. We're asking questions of Professor Richard Eckard. And he's providing his insights from his expertise. Humans of Agriculture doesn't endorse any of his views as part of this. They're really designed to just be conversation starters. And if you want to get more information, please reach out to specialists and experts in the carbon space.

"Farmers are at the forefront of climate change and have a critical role to play in reducing emissions and building a sustainable future." - Bobby Miller

Join us as we explore the origins of Ruminati, how it works, the challenges faced by farmers, and the future potential in this space.

Series sponsor
This series is sponsored by Ruminati, an online emissions calculator created by farmers for farmers. You can learn more about their solution here, show notes or by listening to episodes 1-4 in the series.

Disclaimer: The information shared as part of this carbon series is general in nature. We're asking questions of Bobby Miller and he's providing his insights from his experience in developing Ruminati. Humans of Agriculture doesn't endorse any of his views as part of this. They're really designed to just be conversation starters. And if you want to get more information, please reach out to specialists and experts in the carbon space.

The discussion revolves around the opportunities for farmers on their land and sheds light on unexplored areas of the agricultural supply chain. They also answer audience questions and discuss the industry's progress in reducing its carbon footprint.

• Agricultural supply chain carbon targets and reduction actions 
• The differing roles between the private and government sectors
• The different classes and variations of emissions 
• Greenhouse gas accounting frameworks 
• How farmers can begin to get involved in carbon projects/markets 

This series is sponsored by Ruminati, an online emissions calculator created by farmers for farmers. You can learn more about their solution in the show notes or by listening to episodes 1 and 2 in the 4 part series. 

Disclaimer: The information shared as part of this carbon series is general in nature. We're asking questions of Professor Richard Eckard. And he's providing his insights from his expertise. Humans of Agriculture doesn't endorse any of his views as part of this. They're really designed to just be conversation starters. And if you want to get more information, please reach out to specialists and experts in the carbon space.

• The difference between the Voluntary and Compliance Markets
• The different Participants and Trades in each market
• The revenue potential and investment required to be involved in carbon projects
• and Shifting focus from Carbon to the emergence of Biodiversity and understanding the emerging opportunity

This series is sponsored by Ruminati, an online emissions calculator created by farmers for farmers. You can learn more about their solution here show notes or by listening to our bonus episodes after episodes 3 and 4.

Disclaimer: The information shared as part of this carbon series is general in nature. We're asking questions of Professor Richard Eckard. And he's providing his insights from his expertise. Humans of Agriculture doesn't endorse any of his views as part of this. They're really designed to just be conversation starters. And if you want to get more information, please reach out to specialists and experts in the carbon space.

Key areas covered:

• Understanding Australia's emission reduction targets & how they have been set
• Baseline years and carbon neutrality
• Carbon Neutral vs Net Zero vs Climate Neutral
• Various other environmental claims
• The challenge  & opportunity for carbon neutrality in Agriculture

This series is sponsored by Ruminati, an online emissions calculator created by farmers for farmers. You can learn more about their solution here show notes or by listening to our bonus episodes after episodes 3 and 4.

Disclaimer: The information shared as part of this carbon series is general in nature. We're asking questions of Professor Richard Eckard. And he's providing his insights from his expertise. Humans of Agriculture doesn't endorse any of his views as part of this. They're really designed to just be conversation starters. And if you want to get more information, please reach out to specialists and experts in the carbon space.

In this episode, hosts Oli Le Lievre and Sam Noon, chat about what has got them curious about the Carbon space. With the global focus and interest in Carbon and Carbon emissions it's certainly an area getting lots of attention, investment, science and interest.

• 💡 The series is designed to raise awareness and be a conversation starter rather than providing specific advice.
• 👨‍🏫  Professor Richard Eckard from the University of Melbourne is interviewed as an industry leader to discuss the complexities of the carbon market and its impact and opportunities on the agricultural landscape.
• 🤔  Sam mentions an interesting takeaway from the series for her is the discussion of the Methane Free Animal  
• 🏬  They mention the importance of supply chain targets and the movement towards net-zero by 2050, with significant developments expected from 2030 onward.
• 💡 So strap in for this series which consists of four episodes, and the hosts plan to continue discussing carbon-related topics regularly.
• 🤝  This series is sponsored by Ruminati, an online emissions calculator for farmers. 

Disclaimer: the information shared across this series in general nature. The interviewee Professor Richard Eckard's views are not endorsed by Humans of Agriculture. If you are looking to find out more information in this space, please consult an advisor. 

Cya for Episode 1!

They delve into the growing demand for grains in Vietnam, the importance of sustainability and profitability, and the need for market education and supply chain improvements to remain competitive. Julia highlights the significance of consistency in grain quality and the role of falling numbers in meeting customer expectations.

Episode Highlights:

• Julia's role as a grower director at GrainGrowers and her focus on sustainability and profitability: "And you can throw sustainability, which is a good new focus for us, profitability and sustainability into that mix. And just generally thinking of putting the grower first for everything that we do."
• Purpose of the trip to Vietnam and engaging with the market: "As growers, we don't always get that opportunity to meet the customers or the processors or the consumers as well in foreign markets because we're that one step removed from the supply chain."
• Rapid growth and opportunities in Vietnam: "Well, it seems to be in rapid growth actually... There was enormous amount of construction going on. There was a large population moving around, and Vietnam has 90 million people."
• Vietnamese demand for Australian grains and increasing middle-class population: "That's a big opportunity for changing consumer habits... demand for baked goods, which is good news for wheat, but also good demand increase for animal protein."
• Importance of grain quality and consistency: "Time and time again, the customers said they like Australian rice, wheat, and barley because it's clean, it's dry, it's white, it's sound, with a high falling number, and it's food safe."
• Recommendations for growers to stay competitive and informed: "They can also contact GrainGrowers, talk to any of us on our delegation who went on the delegation as well. And, yeah, and the trade as well. It's really important that the trade and growers have a good working relationship to understand what growers deliver makes what the trade needs."

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What’s discussed:

• Rainfall Patterns: Karl provides an overview of rainfall conditions across different regions. Who’s getting the rain and who needs it.
• El Nino: The Indian Ocean Dipole has shifted, resulting in cooler sea surface temperatures and less moisture, while the Pacific Ocean is cooling down on the eastern side of Australia. (Again, Karl predicts a drier and hotter second half of the year)
• Tasmania and Fire Dangers: Seeing significant dry bias in northern and eastern Tasmania as summer approaches with concerns about potential fire dangers in southeastern Australia (including Tassie), due to the dry conditions.
• Snow Season Predictions: How the recent snowfall at Thredbo does not determine the entire season (in fact the snow season may be lean due to the influence of El Nino and expectations of a warmer and drier year.)

They cover TC's Wagyu business (and his bakery order), the beef market, feedlots and Angus cattle.

Strap yourselves in!

This week Tom & Mick sit down with James Tierney from Riverina Livestock Agents to chat mainly sheep things, as well as Tom's remarkable selling record.

We cover:

• The outlook for 2023 and where the capital is coming from
• The changes in the past 6 months to the rural property market
• Advantages for international institutional investors with current exchange rates
• Importance for land stewardship and ownership in the property market
• The Global Agricultural investing conference in New York from April 3-5 

We cover:

• The conversation moves to the trends in the Australian dairy industry over the last 12 months. 
• The latest report released by Dairy Australia shows a decrease of about 4-6% in total milk supply. John says this is a longer-term trend than just one season. Milk production peaked in 2012, and since then, there have been several factors that have contributed to the decline. These include milk price step-downs, farmers retiring or moving into beef, and labor shortages due to Covid.
• John talks about shifting consumer trends, with more people opting for full-fat milk over low-fat. 
• Key statistics discussed in the episode include the decrease in total milk supply by 4-6% and the peak in milk production in 2012 at 11.2 billion litres. 
• Did you know South Australians LOVE their flavoured milk, drinking three times the national average!

Ms Meghan Adams, historian at the Australian War Memorial, joins us to get all our questions answered about the women who stepped into agricultural roles they probably never expected themselves to be in during World War 2. 

Meg is passionate about getting the stories of these women out there, and we feel really grateful that we can bring this piece of history to you!

In this episode, Meg tells us all about:

• How she became a historian
• What was the Women's Land Army? When was it formed and why?
• Australia's role as a food provider for allied nations and the women who kept the agriculture industry ticking over 
• How many women were Land Army "Girls"?
• Where were these women recruited from?
• What kind of jobs were they doing out on the farms?
• Why was there scepticism and how did they overcome it?
• The breaking down of stereotypes and barriers that lead to further employment of women post-1945

To read more head to Australian War Memorial - Women's Land Army

The fellas sit down with Joel Fleming, Director at Nutrien Harcourts and Livestock and Equine agent, to understand the trends in performance horse sales over the last couple of years and into the future.

They cover:

• Affects of rainfall on the sector and oat planting
• Nutrien Classic Sale - read more here: Nutrien Classic Sale Report 
• Purchases of performance horses as not just a lifestyle but a profession
• What is driving the horse market year to year?
• The growth of performance horse sales per person - from owning one to owning several
• Joel's predictions of where the EYCI number will be by Christmas

At the conference, we got the chance to sit down with Belinda Allitt, the General Manager of Communications & Capacity Building, at Agrifutures Australia. She's been working with AgriFutures for over six years and we wanted to hear all about the work that went into bringing this conference together, what they were hoping to achieve, and what's coming up for them next.

Belinda answers these questions in the weeks ep:

• How was she feeling at the end of day two of evokeAG 2023?
• After three years of conference cancellations, how have the team stayed motivated?
• Why does evokeAG exist?
• What are evokeAG going to do between now and the next conference to gain momentum?
• Where do they find their Future Young Leaders?
• What can she tell us about evokeAG 2024?

Check out these links for more info:
https://evokeag.com/
https://agrifutures.com.au/

He is the CEO of RSPCA Australia and has been since January 2020.

The RSPCA is known for being committed to improving the welfare of millions of animals across Australia. The RSPCA has been operating for over 150 years, and RSPCA Approved has been part of the organisation for 25 years now. There’s a lot to learn when it comes to how the RSPCA implements higher animal welfare standards, and we’re hoping we can ask some of the questions you want answered. 

We sat down with Rich to understand more about how the organisation operates. 

In this chat Richard talks to:

• What is the RSPCA?
• Animal Welfare policy in agriculture
• How does the RSPCA affect change in the animal welfare space?
• Education resources provided by the RSPCA
• How is the RSPCA funded?
• RSPCA wanting to see improvements across companion, farm and wild animals
• How can the broader community see the work of RSPCA?
• The collaborative process between RSPCA and producers for RSPCA Approved
• Has there been a shift in the publics interest in animal welfare?
• Why does Richard work at the RSPCA?

https://www.rspca.org.au/ 

A civil engineer by trade, he and his business partner, Chad, began their journey with PyroAg about eight years ago and throughout that time they have discovered the many uses that pyrolyzed (don't worry, we'll explain that in the episode) wood chips can have.

Whether you've heard of wood vinegar or not, it's definitely one to get across and hopefully you come away from this ep with some answers but also lots of curiosity!

 John answers these questions in the episode:

• What is John's background and how does it intertwine with agriculture?
• What is PyroAg?
• How do you take a waste product and turn it into a high value good of a different kind?
• Is one byproduct of the pyrolysis process better or are all the byproducts beneficial?
• If you had 10 tonnes of input (wood/green waste), what does that look like in terms of output?
• What kind of volumes are going through the process at the moment and where do you source the input from?
• How much does wood vinegar cost?
• How much wood vinegar do farmers buy?
• How is wood vinegar applied?
• How are you making sure the product is safe for use on crops?
• What are the benefits to the soil and what are you learning about microbial activity?
• Where do you see PyroAg in 10 years?

It looks like a lot... but trust us, it's all in this 15 minute ep so let's get into it!

https://www.pyroag.com/ 

Dwain saw a gap in the market - literally - and launched an online marketplace for the buying and selling of "everything to do with agriculture."

Farm Tender markets to over 60,000 members on their website: https://www.farmtender.com.au/ and in this episode Dwain tells us all about what it's been for him to get off the tools and onto selling them.

Dwain answers these questions:

• What is Farm Tender?
• Why did Dwain start Farm Tender in 2012?
• What have been the highlights in the business over the past decade?
• Why didn't Farm Tender take in the US?
• Did his stint in the US make Dwain more passionate about Australian ag?
• How do you build relationships while working remotely?
• What's next for Farm Tender?
• What is Delay Pay, how can it benefit farmers and is there an upper limit on borrowing?
• The who, what, when, where, why for The Business of Farming: Farm Tender 2023 Conference

https://www.farmtender.com.au/ 

Well, Talulah Gaunt - Manager of RSPCA Approved - did, and she knows a whole lot more too.

This weeks episode is a follow up to our This Is Aussie Ag: Higher Animal Welfare in Meat Chickens video, and we ask Talulah all the questions that came off the back of watching the vid.

You might have heard her own story on Humans of Agriculture, but today she's here to flex her animal welfare knowledge muscle, and we can't wait for you to learn along with us.

Questions answered by Talulah:

• Are hormones used anywhere in chicken production?
• How much of the chicken industry is farmed under high welfare standards, RSPCA or otherwise?
• What is the difference between RSPCA approved versus general production?
• How do random assessments of RSPCA approved farms work?
• If a farm is RSPCA approved, do they have to follow the standards all the way through the life of the animal?
• Why do some chickens have missing feathers?
• Are antibiotics and other medicines used on chickens?
• Why do some birds sit with their legs outstretched?

Wow we sure do cover a lot in not even 14 minutes!

If you would like to learn more, visit https://rspcaapproved.org.au/ 

There's a lot of interesting points to understand about the Free Trade Agreement that's currently circulating between Australia and the UK, luckily Fiona has all the answers.

The questions answered by Fiona are:

• What was the purpose of her overseas trip?
• In the Australia and UK Free Trade Agreement, agriculture is front and centre, what's left to get us across the line?
• How quickly can we expect this to go ahead?
• Are there any sectors of Australian agriculture that may be disadvantaged by the Free Trade Agreement?
• How is the Australian agriculture industry perceived globally?
• How does Australia's climate change strategy the perception of Australian agriculture?

This week we welcome Tom Rookyard and Mick Corcoran for their first segment, the Monthly Markets with Tom & Mick. 

The fellas sit down with Tim McRae, Chief Economist at AuctionsPlus to understand more about where livestock markets are heading in 2023 and beyond. 

They cover:

• AuctionsPlus 2023 Cattle Forecast, Read HERE. 
• Producers sell livestock for two reasons: No Grass or the need for income
• Pressure on the processing sector to maintain throughput as livestock slaughter numbers increase
• Where’s the bottom of the market? Tim thinks the second half of 2024 in a widespread context
• Tim’s eyes are on what the autumn (especially the autumn break does) and what is happening in colder areas around August/September 2023. 
• Why sheep markets are forecast like cattle, and a little insight into what’s included in Tim’s monthly sheep articles
• Tim’s insights into the sheep and lamb market this year
• Tim’s market tips include Lamb prices, Eastern Young Cattle Indicator figures and Mutton.

If you’ve got a market or idea you’d love to see discussed, please reach out to us at “InTheKnow@Humansofagriculture.com”

Enda had always hoped to work as the CEO of a startup and after working internationally with large scale corporations, he found an opportunity at the growing business, LAWD. While he didn't have an agriculture background, he recognised the potential to capitalise on the expertise of those within the business as well as draw upon his leadership skills to keep driving the business forward.

In this episode we cover:

• Enda's career and journey to becoming LAWD CEO
• Managing and steadying the growth of a business
• The corporatisation of Australian agriculture
• 50% of agriculture development sits around Victoria
• The "Servant Leadership" approach

This episode is our final installation for the year, we've loved making these quick and easy informative episodes so thank you for listening along! Plenty more to come in 2023 - happy holidays everyone.

There is still a lot going on weather wise around the country, but don’t worry, Karl Lijnders is here again to explain what’s going on and give us an idea of what to expect in the coming months.

Joining us from Darwin, Karl tells us about the heatwaves in the North, the peak of the floods, a wet couple of months north of the Food Bowl and when we might expect drier conditions in the New Year. So while we have excessive water now, it’s advised to collate some of that water to help out in drier times in the next six months. 

In this episode we cover:

• The unprecedented flooding events
• Working our way out of the wet phase
• What are the predictions for the next months?
• 2022: Strange Year of Forecasting
• How is 2023 looking weather wise?

For more of Karl's weather, head to https://www.weathermatters.org/ 

Andrew is the Founder and Director of Episode 3 (https://episode3.net/), and you may recognise him from the podcast, AgWatchers or from his Twitter, @Wheat_Watcher 

Key areas discussed:

- The latest of this seasons grain harvest
- Weekly grain receivals lower than drought
- The global outlook for next years grain prices
- Input costs and next seasons sowing 
- Impact of the Russia Ukraine War
- Australia's trade relations with China and India

Today, we're joined by Georgie Aley, the Sector Lead for Agribusiness at KPMG. Georgie talks us through the key areas in this years National Budget, and what it means for agriculture.

Key areas discussed:

• Difference between Carbon and Biodiversity
• What the budget means on the ground for agriculture
• Climate front and centre in the budget
• $134.1m in Biosecurity funding over 4 years to support protection and traceability of Aussie Ag
• The budget and support for Regional Australia
• How does the budget reflect the importance of Agriculture to Australia?
• Government support for Natural Disasters

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There's potential for once in a generation flooding for Northern Victoria,  a wet summer ahead, struggle to get the headers on paddocks, early cyclone season - similar to the 1970s and an outlook at when it may ease and potential for drier times ahead into 2023. 

I'm joined by Karl to cover:

• Early onset of rainfall in Northern Australia (which is not good news)
• Major low system over southern Australia in the next week
• We talk about the rainfall in the short and medium term
• Will we get the crops off?
• What's the rest of 2022 looking like?
• Are we saying goodbye to La Nina?

For more of Karl's weather head to Weather Matters with Karl Lijnders. 

We find out from Col the state of the rural real estate market and get answers to the following questions:
·       Where are the strongest performing regions and where are the lower or opportunistic regions

·       What’s the interest like from corporates and where are they buying

·       Where is the market heading?

·       Are there any emerging trends?

·       Are challenges emerging with the increasing cost of finance?

·       The northern development – what’s happening up there?

 If you enjoyed this chat we’d love for you to share it with others.
If you have any questions for Col please send either us a message or get in touch with them directly at lawd.com.au

www.humansofagriculture.com