Download The Carbon Story for Dairy in Tasmania and on-farm

The Carbon Story for Dairy in
Tasmania and on-farm actions
Rachel Brown, Agricultural Resource Management
Project Outcomes
• DairyTas Climate Change Mitigation project
(small part of a national project run by DairyNSW)
• Development of a Climate Change PMP Module
• 3 focus dairy farms: Janefield, Rosemount, Ravenscroft
• Technical team:
Rachel Brown, Duncan Macdonald, Brian Wood, James Curran
Soheil Haee (Hydro Tasmania Consulting), Bill Cotching (TIAR)
http://www.bom.gov.au/info/climate/change/gallery/9.shtml
The Greenhouse Gases
•
6 major greenhouse gases listed in the Kyoto Protocol
•
Other greenhouse gases include: water vapour, ozone and sulphur dioxide
GWP
Human activities that emit greenhouse gasses
Carbon dioxide
CO2
1
burning fossil fuels (electricity generation, motor vehicles), biomass
burning
Methane
CH4
21
livestock farming, extraction of fossil fuels, wet rice cultivation, biomass
burning, landfill, domestic sewage
Nitrous oxide
N2O
310
Application of N fertiliser, animal waste, burning vegetation, motor vehicles
Hydrofluorocarbons
HFCs
> 1,300
leakage from refrigeration equipment, aerosols, air conditioners
Perfluorocarbons
PFCs
> 6,500
aluminium production
SF6
23,900
leakage from electrical switchgear, magnesium smelting processes, use in
semiconductor manufacture
Sulphur hexafluoride
GWP - Greenhouse gases vary in their ‘potency’ as they have different properties that determine the length of time they
stay in the atmosphere and their ability to trap heat. All greenhouse gases are measured in terms of their ‘global warming
potential’ (GWP), in units of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2-e).
http://www.climatechange.gov.au/inventory/2006/pubs/inventory2006.pdf
Cape Grim
Baseline Station
Carbon Dioxide (ppm)
Cape Grim
380
370
360
350
340
330
320
1980
1985
1990
Year
1995
2000
2005
Can you draw a carbon cycle for
your farm?
Carbon Accounting
Carbon Story Excel tool linked (currently) to:
• dGAS (dairy)
• SheepGas and BeefGas
• Black Magic (soil carbon, crop rotations)
(RothC modelling)
• FullCAM (vegetation) - referenced against
forestry models
Travel Emissions Comparison
Mode of Transport
Emissions (tCO2e)
Details
Plane flight (Launceston
to Sunshine Coast rtn)
0.96 t per person
184 t per plane
Assume Boeing 737.
200 passengers.
Car travel – annual
driving in Toyota Yaris
2.1 t per vehicle
Assume annual use of
14,600 km (Source ABS)
Car travel – annual
driving in Toyota Prado
4.0 t per vehicle
Assume annual use of
14,600 km (Source ABS)
Plane flight
(Melbourne/Singapore/
Paris rtn)
10.9 t per person
4,352 t per plane
Assume Boeing 747.
400 passengers.
Calculations from:
www.greenvehicleguide.gov.au
www.atmosfair.de
Dairy Farms in Context
• Emissions from typical Tasmanian
dairy farms are less than emissions
from a plane flying Melb to Europe
return (generalisation)
Reduce cow (methane) emissions
• Grow and feed high quality pastures (ryegrass etc.)
• Use high quality supplements (cereals)
• Use good genetics – less animals = less methane
Reduce fertiliser (nitrous oxide) emissions
• Careful management of fertilisers
• Choice of fertilisers
Walk through Energy Audits
•
•
•
8 representative farms (3 dairy farms)
Significant variation in energy use (see graph)
Average 4.0 GJ/ha gross area
What does energy cost for farmers?
(at Nov 2009 prices)
•
Total energy bills (electricity + fuel) varied from $35,000 to $156,000
per year, with average being just over $80,000 per year.
Electricity bills accounted for an average 64% of the total energy bill
or nearly $52,000 per year.
•
Irrigation accounted for 70-80% of farm energy costs.
•
The average energy index for irrigated areas was 1,268 kWh/ha
($216/ha)
•
For those irrigation systems with flow meters installed, energy
indices were calculated at between 200 kWh/ML to 500 kWh/ML, or
around $35/ML to $85/ML . Variations depended on
pump/irrigation sets efficiencies and the Total Dynamic Heads for
those pumps.
The 3 Dairy Farms
• Dairy sheds consumed
20%-30% of total energy
• Dairy Shed energy
indices of 124 to 205
kWh/cow
• Average index of 168
kWh/cow ($29/cow)
• Dairy shed energy indices
of 0.5 to 0.7 cents per
litre of milk
• Total energy index of
approx 2.5 c/litre milk
(inc. irrigation)
Energy Use in Dairy Sheds
Typical Energy Saving Measures
• Irrigation efficiency (right tariff, maximum use of
off peak, pump efficiency, low press. systems,
variable speed drives etc.)
• Heat pumps for hot water heating
• Improving Pre-coolers efficiency
• Insulation and heat recovery
• Variable Speed Drives for vac pumps and milk
pumps
Energy Self Audit Tool for
Tasmanian Farmers
• A guide for conducting an energy audit
• Includes steps such as establishing an energy
history, energy use benchmarks, conducting an
energy survey of equipment, setting targets, etc.
• Brief description of common energy saving
opportunities plus references for further reading
• Includes an action plan and checklists
www.farmpoint.tas.gov.au
Example Energy Action Plan
√
Proposed Action Plan
¨
Establish an Energy consumption History for the farm (minimum 2 years of energy
history)
¨
Establish annual energy use and energy costs (kWh/Yr, $/Yr)
¨
Develop Energy Benchmark for the farm (e.g. kWh/ha or GJ/ha, kWh/ML water
etc.)
¨
Improve instrumentation and metering of main energy users (water flow meter,
pressure gauges, smart meters, etc.)
¨
Conduct an Energy Audit (use this self audit tool, and the checklist I Appendix A)
¨
Add an Energy Efficiency Program module to your PMP
¨
Set energy reduction targets for each year (e.g. 15% reduction of total energy costs
for 2010/11, or %10 reduction in kWh/ha etc.)
¨
Implement cost effective energy saving measures identified during the audit.
¨
Monitor your progress towards meeting those targets (quarterly, 6-monthly, and
annual reviews).
¨
Include energy efficiency requirement in your purchasing policy.
¨
Continually improve energy efficiency.
Comments
Elliot Research Farm Dairy solar hot water system
Contact Darren Cooper, Degree C, P: 03 6431 4511
Offset annual emissions with carbon
capture (sequestration)
• soils
• vegetation
849 t
But most carbon is stored in systems at
equilibrium (farmers are carbon stewards)
117,665 t
Kyoto forest carbon offsets
Only revegetation activities which meet the following
criteria are eligible:
•
forest of trees with potential height of at least 2 m & crown cover
of at least 20%
• patches >0.2 ha & min. width of 10 m
• forest established since 1 Jan 1990, on land that was clear of
forest at 31 Dec 1989
• established by direct human induced methods, i.e. planting,
direct seeding, or human induced promotion of regeneration
from natural seed sources
• occurring in Australia.
There are also other rules around permanence and ownership
Conserving existing remnant bush is not currently eligible.
Plantations are not eligible.
National Carbon Offset Standard
1. Is the National Carbon Offset Standard (NCOS)
mandatory?
• No, the NCOS is a voluntary standard. The NCOS is
intended to provide a benchmark for consumers and
businesses to assess claims of carbon neutrality or the
credibility of offset products available for sale in the
voluntary carbon market.
2. When does the NCOS take effect?
• The NCOS will take effect from 1 July 2010.
http://www.climatechange.gov.au/government/initiatives/carbon-offset/for-business.aspx
National Carbon Offset Standard
13. From which emissions sources can domestic offsets be generated?
Under the NCOS, offset projects may be developed within Australia from
emissions sources and sinks currently not counted towards Australia’s
obligations under the Kyoto Protocol target, such as:
• Enhanced forest management (the management of forests established
before 1990);
• Cropland and grazing land management (net greenhouse gas emissions
from soil, including biochar, crops and vegetation on cropland and grazing
land); and
• Revegetation (establishment of vegetation that does not meet the Kyoto
Protocol definitions of afforestation and reforestation).
Methodologies for producing offsets from these emissions sources must be
proposed and approved under the NCOS before offset projects can be
implemented.
http://www.climatechange.gov.au/government/initiatives/carbon-offset/for-business.aspx
Addressing climate change means putting
less burden on the Earth’s resources
•
•
•
•
•
•
Improve irrigation, dairy shed and home energy efficiency and save $
Refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle everything you can.
Grow and feed high quality pastures (ryegrass etc.) to minimise
methane emissions
Use good genetics – less animals = less methane
Manage your fertiliser use carefully
Inform yourself of the science and policy debate surrounding climate
change, agriculture, carbon trading and offsets
Funding Acknowledgements
Funding through NRM North, Tasmanian Government Climate Connect Program and the Australian Government
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry under the Farm Ready Initiative, part of Australia’s Farming Future.
Resources available from:
www.farmpoint.tas.gov.au
Feedback and questions welcome.
Contact Rachel Brown
Agricultural Resource Management
[email protected]
P: 0419 528 428