The little known lupin is likely the most powerful superfood you’ve never heard of. While lupins have been used as a food for as much as 6000 years in the Andean highlands and over 3000 years around the Mediterranean, they are slowly making their way onto supermarket shelves in Australia and around the globe. Meanwhile, farmers are recognising their multiple advantages in both sustainable cropping systems and as a high-protein addition to animal feed.
With over 200 species, lupins are grown in a wide array of regions across the globe, ranging from the Mediterranean to the southwestern United States, northern Mexico to both eastern and western parts of Australia. Two varieties of lupin are most commonly grown in Australia, with the majority of lupin production occurring in the winter/spring rain-fed parts of southwestern Western Australia. Australia produces about 730,000 metric tonnes of lupins per year, the equivalent of approximately 80–85% of the world’s lupin production. About 30% are used domestically within Australia, while approximately 70% are exported to Asia, North Africa and the Middle East for animal feed. As a high-protein grain, lupins are most commonly grown and harvested for human and animal consumption, yet they also hold many advantages in both cropping and mixed cropping–livestock farming systems.
Farmers can enrich their soil naturally by planting an annual that produces a kaleidoscope of pea-like flowers with bold spikes of vibrant purples, pinks and blues, rich reds and yellows, or crisp, clean whites, attracting a range of pollinators including bees and butterflies. In regenerative cropping systems, lupins produce a significant nitrogen contribution for subsequent crops in soils. They provide a disease break for cereal crops and can help control grass weeds within well planned cropping sequences. With taproots that stretch deep into the earth, lupins are drought-tolerant and also help break up compacted soil. When lupin plants die back, the taproots slowly break down, increasing the organic content in the soil, helping the soil retain water. These combined benefits can increase the yields of cereals following lupin crop rotation, particularly when grown in sandy soils.
The nutrient content of lupin grain, in protein, amino acid, energy and mineral levels makes it both a nutritional and economical addition to stock feed formulations. Among the various grain legumes used in stock feed, lupins can be used as an alternative to soybeans and are highly regarded as feed for poultry, pigs, ruminants, and fish. Research has shown that replacing soybean meal with lupin meal as an alternative poultry protein feed source reduces cost of production and improves poultry egg productivity. In other studies, using lupin grain in feed rations has been shown to increase the milk production of beef and dairy cattle. It can be more valuable to include in the diet than cereal grain because it tends to not lower the fat content of milk (as high levels of cereal grains may do). Researchers have also investigated the potential for lupin grain to be used as a plant based feed source in aquaculture operations and found that lupin was particularly useful for fish diets because of the highly digestible level of protein, good levels of digestible energy and highly digestible phosphorus.
While the crop is grown mostly to produce stock feed, there is a small, but growing market for lupin grain for human consumption. Lupins are slowly growing in popularity among consumers due to their many health benefits: protein-rich, highly nutritious, sustainable, and versatile, lupins are a powerhouse of goodness. They are one of the richest sources of plant protein and fibre (at least twice as much as other legumes) and packed full of nutrients and antioxidants including thiamine, riboflavin, vitamin C, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron and zinc. Eating lupin beans has been linked to lowering blood pressure, improving blood lipids and insulin sensitivity and favourably altering the gut microbiome in studies. The Australian food industry is beginning to recognise the value of lupin and a range of lupin products are now available, including whole lupin flakes, flour, crumb, semolina, or enriched food products such as pasta, cereal and cookie mix.
ORICoop has been working with key organic growers in Western Australia and the Riverina – to expand and diversify their crop selections to include lupins. This provides producers a unique and valuable intercrop option – and enables a strong cash crop for organic dairy and poultry producers. ‘There is a strong appetite for lupins as a livestock feed, and with our Farmers Own ‘ORCA’ Brand we are pushing through the barriers to get bulk lupins from growers to end users in Victoria, Southern Australia and Queensland. Our next ambition is to tap into strategic export markets. This legume has a well deserved place of prominence in the organic and regenerative cropping market – and we are looking forward to it’s initiation across the Australian organic sector’ says Carolyn, ORICoop Executive Director
Ian and Jodi are well experienced with growing lupins in Western Australia. And are thriving in growing them under an organic system. ‘Lupin crops play a pivotal role in the viability of organic and regenerative farming systems in Western Australia. They present to the farmer a range of critical advantages over other crop rotation options available such as suitability in deep acid sandy soils, excellent nitrogen fixation capability, disease resistance and disease break for other crops, impressive stockfeed quality and volume of post harvest residues and competitive demand and value of lupin seeds.
Nitrogen is typically applied to a crop in the form of urea, and although urea application can result in vigorous crop growth it has a hidden destructive action on soil health and long term fertility that requires additional fertilisation to overcome. Organic and regenerative farming systems limit or prohibit the use of urea for this reason. Lupins can fix similar levels of nitrogen from the atmosphere directly into the soil naturally and even increase soil health making them the goto natural fertiliser for the environmentally conscious consumer and farmer. The lupin seed and after harvest crop residues provide an additional benefit of an outstanding high value stockfeed source for grazing ewes and lambs. Ewes and lambs grazing or being fed lupins outperform those running on grass crop feeds and harvest residues providing substantially more lambs and reach market weight far quicker than those running on grass crop grains and residues.
With its unique macro and micro nutrient composition, there is growing evidence that incorporating lupin ingredients into animal and human diets can have direct health benefits. On farms, the benefits range from improved soil structure and water efficiency to increased yields and profitability. With its wealth of advantages, lupins are fast becoming a key ingredient in sustainable agriculture and sustainable diets.
To enquire about bulk lupins you can contact ORICoop HERE
Story written by Eva Perroni
References
Greetings to all ORICoop Subscribers,
Woah the rain in the South! Thinking of all the producers that have had a busy period getting crops in before this drenching rain. We, in the snow country and juggling calving cows and snow conditions right now!
A quick update from ORICoop. We have been head down with our ORCA capital raising over the past month and navigating bulk organic grain supply across our National producer and buyer network. Together with expanding the ORCA marketplace to better meet the needs of grain producers, buyers, manufacturers and key expanding grain markets in Australia.
ORCA Investment Opportunity
Have you completed your EOI for Phase 1 of the ORCA investment project? We are proceeding with our investment strategy based on the EOI’s received to date. We have identified key infrastructure opportunities – that will provide more options for the organic grain sector in partnership with some of our key producer members across Southern Australia. This means we will be able to manage and process organic grain more locally and efficiently and increase the diversity of crops that organic producers in the southern states can grow and sell. A win-win outcome!
We have also identified new markets for existing bulk grains which is super exciting for organic grain growers keen to expand their business! We will be in touch with our ORCA members directly regarding organic grain demand and planning for the next season based on this demand. If you are interested in being an ORCA supplier – make sure you contact us at carolyn@organicinvestmentcooperative.com.au (and join ORICoop!)
And make sure you have completed the EOI for the ORCA Investment project.
The three components of the ORICA Phase 1 investment project include:-
ORICoop Membership
Have you heard about ORICoop? We are ambitiously frustrated by the barriers across organic supply chains. For both producers and for buyers, manufacturers and those building strong organic brands. As a National Organic Cooperative – we believe that together we are stronger and can overcome these barriers through a more coordinated and sophisticated approach. Come and join our growing network of over 200 organic producer members. Across States, Commodities and different farming and business systems.
You can join HERE – https://www.organicinvestmentcooperative.com.au/membership/. And include your business in our Member Directory.
As an ORICoop member you get access to:-
Any questions regarding ORICoop membership please email admin@organicinvestmentcooperative.com.au.
You can keep up with our latest news via our blog here – https://www.organicinvestmentcooperative.com.au/blog/
Until next time,
The ORICoop Team
The Australian Organic Market Report (AOMR) 2023 was published last week and the ORICoop team would like to share some insight into the high growth and export potential for Australian organics – and particularly the massive potential of the organic grain industry in Australia
Key update from Organic and Regenerative Investment Co-operative (ORICoop)
ORICoop (Organic & Regenerative Investment Cooperative) has released the details of the ORCA investment project. A project seeded by 5 key organic producers in the Riverina. And has grown into a substantial National project incorporating producers from the Riverina, the Malle to South Australia and stretching to key producers in the Western Australian wheat belt. This has provided a significant understanding of the existing barriers and potential innovative solutions to relocalise organic, sustainable and regenerative grain, to lessen the footprint of grains across the industry and to understand the health benefits of organic food with more transparency and vitality for consumers and farmers alike.
ORCA is the first Farmer Owned organic grain brand. Led by ORICoop, a National Producers Cooperative, that seeks to do business differently. Farmer Led. Business Driven. With Sustainability front and centre in how to grow and diversify markets across the organic sector.
The Australian Organic Market report outlines the increasing demand for clean and green food. With the industry growing 14% year on year and with an increased opportunity to capture these strong markets that are health conscious, sustainably focused, and value the on-farm stewardship practices.
“Across southern Australia there are incredibly innovative grain producers. Managing a diverse climate ranging from highly productive irrigation land in the Riverina, to marginal light sandy country in the Mallee and the Western Australian wheat belt” shares Carolyn, ORICoop Executive Director. To enable these producers to capture the best markets these producers require a diverse mix of market opportunities from livestock feed through to high end premium grain markets. That enables producers to capture premium markets, spread their risk, and to work closely with manufacturers and bulk buyers that are seeking reliable, high quality Australian grown organic grains for their retail products, for a growing and lucrative market.
Through the ORCA seed project funded by Sustainable Table, ORICoop understands what is being grown, what the challenges to these markets are, and where there are better and more profitable markets from the farm gate. One of the key aspects of this project was to identify not just the market barriers – but also the physical barriers in terms of storage, processing and manufacturing capacity for organic products.
The project enables ORICoop to demonstrate how organic grain has specific requirements and why the existing commodity based grain supply chain doesn’t support organic producers. Both in terms of size, capacity and the interest in single origin or select organic grain types for domestic and export.
The next stage for the ORCA project is to co-design and build tailored bespoke infrastructure that is well suited for this mix of grain products that are in high demand from business. That reduces the footprint of the grain industry. And provides a higher level of sustainability and integrity from the farm to the end consumer.
‘‘Just this week we received another export enquiry – for over 50,000T of premium organic grain. That is more than is grown across the whole country currently!’ says Carolyn Suggate, Founder and Director of ORICoop. “What we need is a coordinated approach to sustainably build out the industry and to capture these strong domestic and export markets that value the clean and green food that organic producers are growing. And builds the capacity for more growers to expand their organic enterprises, increase their profitability while diversifying their risk with mixed crop selections.”
Investment into this area must be tailored to the needs of the industry. It is not one size that fits all. It’s bespoke infrastructure and technology, with catalytic capital that is innovative, patient and understands the downside risk of our dependence on large commodity based food and farming systems.
The Australian Organic Industry now covers more than 55M hectares of land, with more land certified in Australia than any country or continent in the world. And the Organic industry is valued at over $2.1B according to the latest market report.
As a National Producer Cooperative we are member based, and our values deeply align with producers and our end buyers. ORICoop invests back into the industry, providing business services to producers with the best potential for strong markets. And sharing the upside value of the supply chain with our network as a National Cooperative. To build out domestic and export markets, spread the risk and expand the opportunity for mutual collective benefit. That is a true Cooperative!
“The time is now for a new paradigm of investing, where growth is not the main indicator for success, but instead we see transformational ecological, social and cultural changes at the pace necessary to arrest the impact of climate.”
Hayley Morris,
Chair, Sustainable Table,
Executive Director, Morris Family Foundation
“The Australian Organic sector is a strong contributor to the Australian economy, representing 0.04% GDP and contributing $851M directing and over $2.6 flow on effects. Australia has 70% of the global land under certified organic management, boosting 53 million hectares and farming revenue expected to nearly triple in the next five years. Our organic sector continues to grow year on year and there is still so much more potential to be realized”
Niki Ford,
Chief Executive Officer,
Australian Organic Limited
“Michael Coleman, the lawyer working with ORICoop on the investment, sees the ORCA fund as part of the development of more diverse options for investors interested in both profit and sustainability. “Institutional and professional investors are like all of us in seeing and generally welcoming the market’s shift towards technology, innovation and sustainability. Innovative investment options are cropping up everywhere, from retail superannuation funds to private syndicates to click-to-join carbon offset apps. ORICoop as a member-based, not-for-profit organisation is well placed to meet this demand. The ORCA fund is innovative, but it meets the fundamentals – it will own tangible assets that will be directly used by the organic producers the organisation exists to serve, and generate a return for both members and investors.”
Michael Coleman
Managing Director
Boxforest Consulting
‘The ORICoop ORCA project is tailor-made to bring together organic producers to develop an organic food supply chain that will benefit all Australians and overseas consumers. The development of ORCA seems very timely in a world where high quality, certified and healthy food is produced and delivered in a reliable and cost- effective manner.’
Kevin Franey
Partner, Audit & Assurance
Thomas, Noble & Russell (TNR)
ORICoop represents businesses across Australia that are interested in tapping into the world of healthy, planet friendly, sustainable food and farming systems. Enabling food and agriculture to provide resilience and profitability in our regional economies. To lessen the footprint in our production systems. And to increase the profitability and market capacity for organic and sustainable food into domestic and export markets. We invite you to complete an Expression of Interest to get involved in our mission.
To find out more or register for the EOI see link here https://organicinvestmentcooperative.com.au/invest/
Media Contact:
Carolyn Suggate
carolyn@organicinvestmentcooperative.com.au
0448 778 074
Images are available upon request
Located on Wiradjuri Country in Peak Hill in Central New South Wales lies two farms belonging
to seasoned biodynamic farmers Ray and Judi Unger. Named Waratah and Marylyn, these
farms feature unique characteristics that make them suitable for different forms of agricultural
activity. Marylyn is formed of heavy clay loam soil packed with rich minerals, making it the
perfect medium to grow cereal crops like spelt, wheat, oats, lupin and pasture.
The fenced tree lines border most of the paddocks on Waratah and create wildlife corridors,
reduce wind erosion, attract bird life and provide fodder to stock during droughts. Waratah
comprises a lighter red ironstone soil type more suited to running their livestock of Merino sheep
for wool and White Suffolk cross for lambs as well as Hereford cattle stock. These distinct but
complementary farm types allow Ray and Judi to run a diversified mixed-farming broadacre
enterprise that offers long-term climatic resilience.
“We have 3,500 acres, and we could nearly crop all that, but we never do,” says Judi.
“We only ever crop about a third as the maximum every year because we do crop rotations, so
we try to crop about one [rotation] every eight years, so we’re sparing the country, we’re not
flogging the soil in the process of growing healthy biodynamic crops and pastures. We’re trying
to build up the organic matter and put it into the pasture phase and use it for grazing. It’s all
quite entwined.”
When Ray’s father bought the farm several decades ago, farming systems were rather
exploitative and heavily reliant on chemical inputs, extracting a considerable toll on the already
marginal agricultural land.
“The farm was heavily impacted by cropping and heavy stocking rates,” recalls Judi, prompting
the Ungers to consider ways in which they could improve the quality and health of their land and
in turn, their crops and livestock.
At a conference in Cowra in 1993, Ray heard an organic farmer speak about organic principles and practices and was immediately drawn to the concept. Organic agricultural methods could help produce high-quality agricultural products in a way that protects and improves the natural environment while safeguarding the health and welfare of all farmed species. Without hesitation, Ray and Judi decided to “go cold turkey” on synthetic fertilisers, insecticides and herbicides in the mid-90s and start the journey towards organic certification and farm management.
“I felt this immense weight off my shoulders; we were now in charge of our own destiny,” says Judi.
“We didn’t need an agronomist. We didn’t need people telling us what chemicals need to be
applied and when and where.”
Instead, by adopting the organic philosophy and mindset, Ray and Judi committed to learning
and observing their land, soil and biology to grow healthier food more sustainably. Following the
completion of a TAFE course in organic agriculture, the process of conversion took the Ungers
three years, becoming fully accredited with Australian Certified Organic in 1996 and receiving
A-grade certification for the crop they grew that year. Shortly afterwards, they began looking into
biodynamic practices.
Founded on similar principles to organic agriculture, biodynamic agriculture is a holistic,
whole-systems approach to bring plants, animals, soil, ecosystems and people together.
Biodynamic systems aspire to generate their own on-farm fertility through practices such as crop
rotation, composting and integrating animals to enhance on-farm biodiversity, nurture soil fertility
and enable greater farm resilience against extreme weather events. The Ungers have been
practicing relatively consistent methods for more than 25 years.
But the agricultural sector has changed significantly over this time. The deregulation of
agricultural markets, fluctuating government support and investment, the privatisation of
infrastructure and agricultural services, rising costs for fuel and machinery, and increasing
consolidation amongst farms and across the entire food chain have reshaped Australian
agriculture.
“It’s changed a lot in the 28 years we’ve been doing it,” says Ray.
“A lot more dairy farmers have gone down the organic track, but then dairying has retracted;
there are fewer dairy farms around because they got bigger, just how most farms got bigger.
Cost of production has certainly increased, as has machinery. We probably wear more
machinery out than conventional farmers. They can spray 1000 acres in a day and I can plough
100 acres in a day. We’ve had lots of problems, but conventional farmers have had lots of problems too.”
Conventional and organic farming methods have a range of different impacts on soil fertility, biological diversity, livestock health and the health of the farming enterprise.
“We don’t have issues that conventional farmers have with bloat and worms. They’re in a situation where they go into town to buy something to fix their problem and basically they’re told, “If you don’t use this stuff, the sky is going to fall!” says Ray.
“Well the sky doesn’t fall. I can look back now and see we’ve been used by the chemical companies. I couldn’t even tell you what Round Up costs anymore.”
Fluctuating climatic conditions, from the intensifications of droughts and floods, to
unprecedented bushfire conditions, have created increasing pressure on Australia’s agricultural
systems and can restrict growing seasons or wipe out entire harvests.
“The current market has been tough. There are more organic grain producers around and we’ve
had a couple of good years so there’s plenty of organic grain about,” says Ray.
“It’s supply and demand: the current prices [for organic wheat] aren’t enough to cover your
costs. In comparison to the droughts of ‘18 and ‘19, where [demand was high and] it was very
difficult to buy organic grain to feed livestock. That will happen again when there’s another dry
spell.”
Ray and Judi have subsequently invested in sealed storage and silos for grain as a form of
on-farm insurance. It grants the ability to store grain in good years and to carry that through to
market when climatic conditions may impact production, and there is less supply of organic
grain. It’s another way in which the Ungers can take control of when and where they market
their grain, and into which market they sell.
While grain crops such as cereals, pulses, legumes and oilseeds make up a small percentage
of total organic production in Australia, the organic grain industry has a significant opportunity to
expand with the right market development and indicators. Demand for organic products in
Australia and abroad has been rising over recent years, as consumers are increasingly
considering the health benefits and environmental effects of their food choices. This rising
demand is also motivating manufacturers to make organic food more accessible to mainstream
markets.
The Ungers have been considering new ways to add value to their business and tap into this
rising demand, but need to consider the added costs carefully, whether that be in time,
machinery, or labour of value-adding activities. Cleaning, processing, growing special items,
packaging, milling, storage, or distribution operations can all be considered as “value-adding” to
basic farm commodities like grain.
“I’ve looked at trying to value-add products; to clean grain and bag it,” says Ray.
“But you’d need a fair amount of capital to get that all organised; you’d need to set up sheds,
buy machinery and you’d need to employ someone possibly to run that side of the business. But
that comes with more risk.”
“We’re good at what we do, whether that’s wool or sheep or cattle or grain, but we’re flat out
running the farm as we are. So there’s no opportunity without spending a lot more money and
employing more people to go and value-add.”
The Organic and Regenerative Cooperative Australia (ORCA) pilot project seeks to determine
the best and most profitable products for organic grain farmers like Ray and Judi, together with
identifying the market, processing and access barriers that could be resolved through better
collaboration, producer representation or investment in storage or processing facilities.
“If ORCA was able to set up a plant to clean grain and then bag it, hopefully, we could get a
better return and share in the profit from that operation,” says Ray.
Increasing the availability of local abattoirs for the organic industry is another opportunity for
investment that Ray believes will help farmers in the region.
“30 or 40 years ago there used to be an abattoir in most towns, but now there aren’t enough
abattoirs,” says Ray.
“Sometimes our stock, our lambs and our cattle, as well as our wool, goes into the conventional
market.”
The ORCA project endeavours to unlock some of these barriers and to enable strategic
investment into facilities and technology that will lead to better prices for producers. ORCA
investigates market trends and opportunities while providing farmers with the technology and
data they may need to thrive in the organic grain farming industry. Through a tailored online
platform, producers can achieve the transparency and traceability of organic produce now
demanded by processors and consumers, as well as achieve fairer pricing along the entire
supply chain.
Research, education and innovation are key areas that Ray and Judi believe will help them
manage their farm more efficiently and profitably and the long-term sustainability of the organic
industry more broadly. They suggest that agricultural drone systems, for example, have an
unrealised potential to assist with microbial applications for crops or to support and surveil
cattle, all while minimising fuel costs and further impact upon the soil.
Due to the rural isolation that many farmers face, Judi believes that current information and
education systems must evolve to meet the needs of organic growers and younger farmers
wishing to enter the industry. Different knowledge-transfer activities that are organised by and
targeted at the organic farming sector, will help increase knowledge and skills on organic plant
and animal production, processing and marketing.
“Organic farming is a process of continual learning,” says Judi. “Part of it is experimentation and
trialling new techniques and being able to demonstrate what works. It would be great to get a
uni student out on the farm to do a case study and have that research published.”
Judi believes that harnessing the in-depth knowledge acquired through decades of practical
experience and translating this into an evidence base that can be shared throughout the organic
industry will strengthen the sector. Testing new approaches and technologies, building and
compiling rigorous evidence about what works, and disseminating this knowledge widely to
farmers, researchers and policymakers can help improve economic and environmental
outcomes for producers. Judi also believes that such education is key to equipping future
generations of farmers with the skill sets required to prosper in the sector and take full
advantage of innovation.
Ray and Judi are taking part in the ORCA project alongside other organic farmers in the
Riverina agricultural district in NSW. Together, these farmers are sharing their experiential
knowledge, insights and networks to collectively grow together and to diversify and build a
better and more resilient organic market. The vision is to strengthen and sustainably grow the
entire organic value chain, with shared benefits for farmers, manufacturers and consumers.
By collectively working through some of the common barriers faced by organic farmers and
unlocking opportunities for greater on-farm profitability, ORCA is committed to improving and
amplifying the benefits of organic, regenerative and biodynamic farming across the Riverina and
the country.
Written by Eva Perroni, as part of the ORCA project
The carbon credit ledger that is actively supporting local producers?
A new type of carbon credit has taken off in Australia, with the first set of credits quickly being snapped up by buyers keen to reduce their carbon footprint, and know the story behind each of the credits generated.
Eco-CreditsTM are the very first fully farmer-owned carbon credits in Australia, representing not only one tonne of carbon drawdown per credit, but the tireless efforts of local farmers actively improving their on-farm biodiversity and local ecosystems as a whole.
Victorian organic dairy farmers Stephen & Jo Ellen Whitsed and family have produced the first set of EcoCredits sold by ORICoop, and are already seeing the benefits they can bring not only to themselves, but fellow producers.
“The more credits sold, the more that assists farmers in their transition to better, which means more money directly into farmer’s pockets,” Stephen said.
Eco-CreditsTM can be sold anywhere in the world, so that has its own bonus as well.”
While Stephen and his family had already been focusing on increasing the carbon levels in his soil, he believes the income from Eco-CreditsTM could encourage those new to the organic, regenerative agricultural space to improve their farming practices even more.
“We were farming that way anyway, we bought a Soil-Kee Renovator, we were using that to increase multi-species planted into our soil, while also increasing carbon for the overall benefit of our soil,” Stephen said.
“If you’ve got higher carbon levels, you’ve got a better soil, you hold more moisture in your soil for longer so you don’t need to irrigate as often. That’s a big cost savings for us especially this year when we start to irrigate with the increased price of diesel. We were heading down the path of improving our soils even though we were organic, and increasing our carbon, and when the opportunity came to get paid for our carbon credits, well we were doing it anyway and it’s a great opportunity, so we jumped at it,” he said.
“If we could potentially diversify our income from selling carbon credits we may not milk as many cows, because we currently milk 160 cows on 160 acres, so we’re pushing our country especially under an organic method. So we may reduce our stock levels back a little bit which in turn helps your soil with your farm anyway. And for the person that’s just starting afresh, it’s certainly something that you’d change your farm practice and head that way.”
Stephen & Keenan Whitsed – with one of the tools in their farm management system
Stephen has four soil dedicated testing zones on his properties in the region, which undergo annual soil testing. By design, Eco-CreditsTM avoids many of the greenwashing and double-dipping claims made for some conventional carbon credits. They are also future-proofed for potential soil carbon changes due to seasonal variation, or natural disasters such as the flooding, fire, and debris from storms faced by Stephen on his family farm based at the headwaters of the Murray River.
“Around half the EcoCredits we’ve produced are kept in our buffer reserve in case our carbon levels decrease in a specific year. The Eco-Credits are verified each year, and the footprint of each farm is factored into the number of credits that are released to the market. This ensures that each farm considers it’s footprint before releasing any credits to the marketplace. The environment certainly plays a part in it or if something happens and you have a drought or a fire or a flood or whatever it might be, there is potentially a concern as to reducing carbon levels” Stephen said.
For more information, or to purchase EcoCredits to meet your business offset goals whilst supporting local organic producers bettering their communities and the environment, click here. Or contact ORICoop directly for more information.
Email – admin@organicinvestmentcooperative.com.au
Assessing the renewed pasture growth