“Indications are we may not be so flash as we thought,” Smith said.
With a background in agriculture, eventually owning his own high-country sheep and beef farm, Smith has been researching soil carbon, it’s role in climate change, international practice and NZ’s options.
Working with Hawke’s Bay fertiliser company Abron, Smith has followed an American soil carbon project using regenerative agriculture and adaptive multi-paddock grazing.
Changing from conventional to no-till in 2007 Smith tracked down the Wisconsin project and started working with it.
“Now we do have an international means to measure,” he said.
Regional plans will affect future land use and farming intensification options or require changes to farming systems.
So farmers are looking for higher production and profitability while consumers and local authorities are demanding it be done in an environmentally sustainable way.
Adaptive multi-paddock (AMP) grazing with long rotations letting grass grow long rather than continuous grazing is proving an option for NZ soils.
“With our heavier soils and rainfall in NZ we can actually increase soil carbon quite fast.
“There are some systems out there but they are really only just getting off the ground.”
In Canada, Alberta is managing an offset system, a model measuring conventional to conservation cropping.
Australia is progressing with a carbon farming initiative that measures soil carbon changes under grazing, cropping and horticulture with provision to sell carbon credits.
NZ is still to get up and running with its on-farm soil carbon benchmarking and monitoring for pastoral farms.
“It’s in discussion, The Ministry for Primary Industries has not released it yet.
“But it looks hopeful that we can get one that we can rely on and we can use.
“But there’s no mechanism in it yet that credits carbon.”
Smith said the soil monitoring is not comparing farm systems so there’s no idea really of differences between systems.
“We can help save the planet. It’s got potential to be huge but we need more information.”
The models need to show soil carbon in the same soil types can be increased with different management.
The bottom line is healthier soil, pasture and animals meaning healthier financial returns, Smith said.
