How can Hepburn Shire farmers reach zero-net emissions on farm?
Farmers for Climate Action is working with the Hepburn Shire to support the launch of a new publication, a comprehensive guide for the Shire to reach zero-net emissions in the agriculture sector. At this webinar, attendees will hear from local farmer Paul Righetti and Z-Net Roundtable members Tammi Jonas and Dom Murphy.
In the Hepburn Shire, agricultural emissions are a critical piece of the zero-net puzzle, representing 41% of the shires total emissions. Over the past few months the Hepburn Z-NET Roundtable has been working with farmers and experts to produce a guide to draw these emissions down.
Cutting emissions from agriculture is often seen as challenging in comparison to other sectors but the Z-NET Roundtable says this doesn’t have to be the case. Their new strategy makes it clear that there is a large opportunity for farms to reduce their emissions and build carbon sinks with some significant but simple changes.
The guide offers detailed information on reducing emissions from fossil fuels, livestock, land use, soil carbon and agricultural inputs. There is also supporting information about the actions already
underway in the shire and how farmers can be involved.
For more information, you can access the guide “How Hepburn Shire Farms can Reach Z-NET” on the Hepburn Z-NET website.
This project is made possible thanks to the support of Creswick and District Community Bank, Hepburn Wind, Sustainability Victoria, Renew and Hepburn Shire Council.
Speakers
Tammi Jonas
Tammi Jonas is an agroecologist in principle and in practice, farming heritage-breed Large Black pigs, cattle, and garlic with her husband Stuart in the central highlands of Victoria, on the unceded lands of the Dja Dja Wurrung people, to whom she pays respect to elders past and present. She is president of the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance (AFSA), co-editor and co-author of Farming Democracy: Radically transforming the food system from the ground up (2019), and undertaking a PhD at the University of Western Australia on the role of small-scale heritage-breed livestock farmers in an agroecological transition and decolonisation of agriculture in Australia.
Paul Righetti
Paul Righetti is a fourth generation farmer in Central Victoria. Paul along with wife Jacqui and business partners Ian and Kim Garsed run a grazing business over 5000 acres of sheep, cattle and pasture raised hens for egg production (Honest Eggs Co.) It is a regenerative grazing approach growing nutrient rich food which is distributed through country Victoria and Melbourne.
Dominic Murphy
Dom is a mechanical engineer and has been working in sustainability, energy, waste and machinery design projects for about 10 years. He grew up near Clunes, on a sheep and cropping property where he is now in a partnership with his dad. He has an interest in the environmental impacts of farming and industry, addressing climate change and biodiversity loss, and has been shifting towards multi-species cropping, biological soil treatments and holistic planned grazing on the family farm.
Watch the recording
