Field days committee president Darren Trewick said a recent information gathering project undertaken in conjunction with Latrobe University had confirmed that there was a lack of understanding at farm level about carbon generation and emissions.

“We are planning to provide the means of raising the understanding in the rural community about the new issues of energy conservation, carbon generation and the fast evolving sector of carbon trading,” Mr Trewick said.

“Most farmers also indicated in the survey that they had little or no understanding about carbon trading or how they might benefit by supplying carbon credits such as tree-planting or similar forestry initiatives to assist other industries which are significant carbon generators.

“We think that the carbon issue will be an ongoing theme in agriculture in particular over the next couple of years at least as the issue grows in significance.”

He said survey groups would be working on the field days sites to assist farmers to calculate their energy consumption, their carbon emissions footprint, how they may reduce their expenses and benefit from any credits in carbon trading.

Mr Trewick said the project conformed with the committee’s objective of establishing the Elmore Field Days and the Elmore Events Centre site as a “carbon friendly event”, making it unique.

For full story see Stock & Land, September 25.