Mr David Broadhurst1, Dr Sue ogilvy Ogilvy2, Angela Howdon2, Ms Isabelle Tuckett1
1Perth NRM Inc. And RegenWA, Bentley, Australia, 2Farming for the Future, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Biography:
David graduated from Charles Darwin University with a Bachelor of Science majoring in Ecology and Environmental Biology. Starting his NRM career with the Oyster Harbour Catchment Group as a NRM Officer, David moved into the Agricultural space with South Coast NRM in 2008 where he was a Regional Agricultural Landcare Facilitator and Land & Water Program Leader. David enjoys working with farmers and supports people to incorporate NRM into their farming businesses.
David is currently Perth NRM's manager of the Sustainable Agriculture program and provides operational support for RegenWA Ltd.
Abstract:
A major enabler to transition towards a more financially prosperous, resilient and sustainable agricultural sector is an improved understanding of the role natural capital (NC) plays in generating benefits for agricultural businesses and farming families, and increased capability to incorporate NC into farm business management decisions. The provision of a repeatable evidence-based tool to monitor NC drawdown on farms is critical for informed decision making and validation of commonly recommended regenerative practices.
The presentation will discuss the demonstrated linkages of NC’s contribution to farm production. The trial produced 144 farm accounts across Australia including 38 in WA. The results show –
– High level productivity is possible from intensive livestock enterprises (with low NC) and those with higher NC, but high NC farms are more profitable in financial terms.
– Different ‘benefit pathways’ through which NC can support farm businesses, including via improving productivity, and/or by reducing input costs.
– Most of the relationships between NC and farm business performance that we observed were positive and linear. This means that most farms in our sample, and similar farms within the broader farming population, could improve their business outcomes by improving their NC.
– Landholder surveys show that the potential for private financial benefits is the most compelling reason for farmers to invest in NC improvements.
– Delivering insights into NC-farm business relationships across a broader range of focus regions and enterprise types would help to drive large-scale industry adoption of improved NC management (+38% of farms beyond forecast baseline levels).