Southern Farming Systems partnered with Grower Group Alliance to deliver a series of workshops under the National Industry-led Carbon Farming Outreach Program.

The workshops offered farmers and advisors the un-biased, expert, carbon farming knowledge and the supply chain and public policy drivers that farmers need to prepare for a future where carbon becomes an integral element of farming life.

In 2025 and 2026 SFS delivered 9 workshops and 2 awareness raising events across south-west Victoria, Gippsland and Tasmania with over 170 farmers and industry people attending keen to learn more about carbon on farms and in the supply chain.

The workshops covered carbon farming and emissions in multiple farming systems including livestock and broadacre cropping specific workshops. Workshops were facilitated by SFS alongside local advisors Craig Drum, Murray Johns and Simon Falkiner who shared their knowledge and experiences in the carbon space and helped answer the burning questions farmers had.

Topics covered in the workshops included:

• Background on where on-farm emissions come from and the supply chain responses to emissions targets

• How to calculate your emissions intensity number

• Strategies to reduce these emissions in your farm business

• Carbon sequestration opportunities

• Carbon credits and ACCU’s

Participant feedback indicated the Carbon Farming Outreach Program benefited farmers and land managers by building their foundational knowledge of carbon farming and emissions management, particularly for participants who were starting with limited prior understanding. Through workshops and supporting resources, growers developed greater awareness of carbon farming practices, sequestration opportunities, and the key market drivers shaping the carbon and low emissions landscape.

Improving understanding of these market drivers—such as supply chain sustainability requirements, emerging carbon markets, emissions reporting expectations, and evolving policy signals—helped participants place carbon farming in a broader business and risk management context.

This knowledge enabled farmers to better assess potential opportunities and limitations for their own enterprises, make more informed decisions, and consider how carbon and emissions management could influence profitability, market access, and long-term business resilience.

By James Palmer, SFS  Senior Research & Extension Officer

Image Below Simon Falkiner discussing soil properties.