Low Emissions Intensity Farming Systems (LEIFS) Initiative

A significant risk facing the Australian grains industry is its unpreparedness to meet the escalating expectations for reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity from stakeholders across the supply chain. Additionally, climate change is already affecting Australia’s producers and the environment. Reducing emissions is critical for mitigating future climate risks for the agriculture and land sectors, as well as ensuring the grains industry is well-placed to compete in global markets.

According to the National Greenhouse Account, the agricultural sector accounted for 16.8% of national GHG emissions in 2020-21. This is expected to increase as other sectors (e.g., energy) adopt more readily available and cost-effective abatement options. To maintain the grain industry’s competitiveness, growers need a science-based approach to monitor, manage and report emissions.

There is considerable uncertainty as to which on-farm practices can achieve reductions in emissions intensity, due to system complexity, high spatial and temporal variability, imperfect models and the recognition that formal emissions factors are generic. The marketplace is awash with products and practices recommended to sequester soil carbon and/or lower emissions, but many lack credible evidence to substantiate claims.

An emerging GHG service industry is rapidly growing with a number of different and disconnected tools and services. An increasing number of grain growers look to these services to support their transition to lower emissions intensity and inform decisions around whether to enter market or credentialing schemes. Emission reduction measures should quantify on-farm productivity and profitability impacts, so growers and communities understand potential trade-offs. Regionally determined marginal abatement cost curves are needed to de-risk decision-making, incentivise adoption, valorise on-farm practice change and identify emerging opportunities.

A situational analysis commissioned by the Grains Research and Development Corporation (CSIRO, 2023) highlights the current state of emissions mitigation, GHG calculator usage and the barriers and opportunities in supporting lower emissions agriculture. The report outlines the need to understand enterprise GHG accounts, emissions intensity and principles of low emission practices. It states that to manage profit and emissions at the farm enterprise level it is necessary to understand GHG sources, options to reduce emissions intensity and trade-offs between management strategies.

The situational analysis acknowledges current efforts to mitigate GHG emissions, such as clarifying emissions from crop residues, enhancing soil carbon sequestration, optimising nitrogen cycling, using enhanced efficiency fertilisers and implementing autonomous technology. It also acknowledges emerging pilot schemes. However, the significant challenge the agricultural sector faces are the absence of coordination and co-development of solutions, whereby the production and value chains can create and deliver value. Similarly, the Australian government has identified key gaps in research, development and deployment of low emissions technologies and practices, including insufficient focus and funding into on-ground awareness, problem-solving and extension activities. Additionally, the workforce skills and capacity in research addressing low emissions agriculture are limited. There is a pressing need for improved national coordination and collaboration to enhance efficiency, reduce duplication, and improve the quality of research and data availability for adopting low emissions strategies.

The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) has launched a five-year initiative called Low Emission Intensity Farming Systems (LEIFS) Initiative to shape the future of low emissions intensity farming within the Australian grains industry. The goal of this Initiative is to demonstrate the benefits of monitoring, managing and reporting GHG accounts at the farm scale. The LEIFS Initiative will provide practical options to lower emissions intensity, improve production efficiency and capture value.

The LEIFS Initiative will demonstrate farm-scale benefits by monitoring, managing and reporting GHG accounts on volunteer farms. It focuses on practical options, both existing and emerging, to lower emissions intensity, enhance production efficiency and capture value. Through participatory research and co-design of farm-scale solutions, it seeks to establish principles for long-term and tactical management of emissions intensity, providing evidence of benefits and trade-offs across different farming contexts.

A key component of the LEIFS Initiative is collaboration among partners to support a nationwide trusted body of evidence that supports and informs grower decisions and contributes to industry regulations and policies. The Initiative will integrate with existing and emerging national and regional activities, ensuring consistent approaches and credible national GHG data analytics and insights. The LEIFS Initiative provides a national platform for assessing tools, techniques and technologies for GHG abatement and reporting in the grains sector.

The legacy of the LEIFS Initiative will include facilitated peer-networks, consistent knowledge sources, effective monitoring approaches and the availability of new data and knowledge that help Australian grain growers meet the low-emission expectations of society, both now and in the future.

The LEIFS Initiative comprises five integrated programs: Program Office, Capturing Grower Value, National Data Analytics and Insights, Accessible Greenhouse Gas Monitoring, and Action Research Networks.