You can't manage what you can't measure: Ruminati CEO Bobby Miller at the Global Food Forum

Our CEO Bobby Miller joined a panel at The Australian's Global Food Forum in Melbourne this week, alongside Natalie Collard from Farmers for Climate Action and Mike Brabant from Single O, for a conversation about what emissions data actually means for farm businesses.

Bobby's starting point was straightforward: before any business (farm or otherwise) can move toward a lower emissions position, it needs to understand where it's starting from. "The first thing that any company or producer needs to do when they're moving to a lower emissions, more sustainable position is to understand where they're starting from," he told the panel.

From there the conversation moved to what's been missing. Plenty of producers are already tracking emissions: because it makes business sense, because supply chains are asking for it, or both.

The gap is incentives and a clear, standardised starting point. As Bobby put it: "You can't manage what you can't measure. The government's been a little bit slow to react to that and come up with an official standard that creates a clear starting point from which all the sectors in ag can manage their emissions."

The standard is coming (Bobby noted that by end of 2026 there will be a federal standard in place), but the incentive piece needs to follow. "This is happening. By the end of 2026 there'll be a standard which we can measure from. But then we will need some sort of incentive for farmers to lean in and measure their emissions."

The panel sessions were broadcast live on Sky News. You can also watch Bobby's session back on YouTube HERE.