Two days at the Wilmot Cattle Co field days on accelerating change in food, fibre and nature

Most producers first come across emissions reporting when a bank or a buyer asks for their data, which makes it useful to see who is asking and what they are interested in, and that was the picture at the Wilmot Cattle Co field days over two days in March. The theme was Accelerating the Change: Food, Fibre and Nature, and the program brought together people thinking seriously about agriculture’s role in addressing global environmental challenges from a production-first perspective, which kept the conversations close to what happens on a working farm.

Bobby Miller, Peter Leihn and Lily Rodgers were there for the full run, and the conversations across the two days covered natural capital and emissions tracking along with the relationship between productivity and environmental performance. A good deal of the discussion came back to what it looks like in practice when farmers take the lead on their own emissions story without waiting for the supply chain to tell them what to do.

The Natural Capital in Action panel was a highlight, because Carmel Onions from CommBank gave Ruminati a mention while discussing the practical benefits of emissions recording for farmers. It was a reminder that the financial sector’s interest in this space is growing, and that if you have your emissions data in order when a bank asks for it, you are increasingly better placed to answer, with the data staying yours to share as you choose.

Away from the sessions, the team spoke with Michael Taylor from Fulton Market Group, Merri King from McDonald’s, Angela Hammond from Landcare Australia, Sam Duncan from FarmLab, Sam Ditchfield from Woolworths, Martijn Wilder from Pollination and Carmel Onions from CommBank, as well as Phil Tickle from Cibo Labs. Between them they represent the supply chain along with the advisory and investment sides of the industry, and all of them are increasingly paying attention to farm-level emissions data.

Thanks to the Macdoch Australia team and Stuart Austin for putting the field days together, and for running a well-organised two days!