Greenhouse Gas modelling results can be found among the reports in each analysis in an OverseerFM farm account
The Greenhouse Gas results page is split into four sections:
- Emissions by Source
- Total Farm Emissions
- Production Footprint
- Carbon Stock
If a farm does not have any forests modelled, there will be no information in the Carbon Stock section and the Total Farm Emissions, or gross emissions, effectively become the "net" emissions for the farm.
However, if forests have been modelled, and results are displayed in the Carbon Stock section, the annual sequestration number can be used to understand the net emissions for a farm.
In this example of a sheep and beef farm, which has harvested production forestry two years ago and re-planted it, by hovering over Year 1 in the "Cumulative Carbon stock totals" graph, we can see that the farm has sequestered -402 tonnes of carbon in this year, due to the breakdown and release of carbon from the harvested forest.
In this case the net emissions for the farm are (Gross Farm emissions = 1659t) - (Gross annual sequestration = -402t) = 2,062tonnes eCO2.
Using the same farm system, we might model a scenario where we reduce total emissions by 5%, reducing farm emissions to 1,576t by Year 20, and if we keep our area of forestry the same and hovering over Year 20, we can see that we will have 519t of potential carbon sequestration in that year.
This means that by Year 20 the farm may have improved their net carbon emissions to (Gross Farm emissions = 1576t) - (Gross annual sequestration = 519t) = 1,057tonnes eCO2.
It is important to remember that at this time, no allowance is made for sequestration potential of pasture, crops or soil within OverseerFM, as that science and measuring capability is still emerging.
Relating your GHG emissions to He Waka Eke Noa proposals
If you are looking to understand the potential emissions you may have to pay for under the He Waka Eke Noa proposals put together by industry bodies and proposed to the government, Beef + Lamb New Zealand have put together an excellent explanation of how to do that here
If an agreed reporting approach is decided upon, we will provide additional reporting in OverseerFM to make the modelling of farm emissions easy to understand, in line with those requirements.