Practical support for managing farm carbon

Across the Australian dairy industry, there's a growing focus on understanding and managing greenhouse gas emissions—but for many dairy farmers, this isn’t new territory. In fact, the practices that reduce emissions are often the same ones already being used to improve efficiency, manage costs, and drive productivity. 

At Dairy Australia, we recognise that environmental benefits—like lowering emissions—are often the result of good business decisions already happening on farm. Our ‘Understanding Farm Carbon’ workshops are designed not to tell farmers what they should be doing, but to provide practical tools, support and information to help identify and measure what’s already working, and where there may be further opportunities. 

Our conversations with farmers is often about building on the business decisions they are already making —connecting day-to-day decisions with the emissions picture, and supporting farmers to track and communicate their efforts with confidence. 

The Land, Water, Carbon survey (2023) reported that approximately 96% of Australian dairy farmers had already implemented at least one practice to reduce greenhouse gas emissions—often without realising this beneficial flow-on result. 

Industry drivers

The increased interest in emissions across the supply chain—from banks and milk processors to retailers—means being proactive in understanding farm emissions is quickly becoming part of doing business.

With the Australian dairy industry aiming to reduce emissions intensity by 30% by 2030, many dairy farmers are looking for those clear, practical steps to better understand how this impacts on their business and the expectations on them to manage their emissions. 

Measuring efforts 

Dairy Australia is supporting farmers to understand where their emissions are coming from and how to measure them in a meaningful way. We focus on breaking down the key drivers of on-farm greenhouse gas emissions—such as methane from cattle, nitrous oxide from fertiliser use, and storage of carbon—so farmers can better understand what influences their farm’s overall carbon footprint.

Where farmers often see the most value is when this understanding is put into practice using readily available carbon accounting tools like the Australian Dairy Carbon Calculator (ADCC) or using the features in DairyBase. Both are free online tools developed specifically for Australian dairy farms.  

These tools allow farmers to estimate and track their farm’s emissions over time, linking day-to-day management decisions with measurable outcomes. It can be rewarding to see how actions—like optimising fertiliser use, improving effluent management, lifting herd efficiency through genetics, or using renewable energy—contribute to lowering emissions, often while also improving productivity or reducing costs.

This data not only helps farmers manage their businesses more effectively, but also provides evidence to support conversations with milk processors, lenders, and supply chain partners who are increasingly interested in on-farm sustainability efforts.

One to one support 

Recognising that every dairy farm operates differently, Dairy Australia offers individualised, one-on-one support alongside our workshops. This personalised assistance is designed to help farmers work through specific questions, challenges, or opportunities related to managing farm emissions.

Support is available at any stage, whether a farmer is just beginning to explore their emissions profile or already taking action and looking to go further. The goal is to provide a trusted guide to help navigate carbon management in a way that fits each farm’s unique situation and long-term business goals.

For more information and support in managing farm carbon contact your local Dairy Australia team or register your interest for a one-to-one consultation.