“Data is your Super Power” was the message from Dr Penny Schulz at the Carbon Ready Ag Conference, where she highlighted how practical tools and innovative technology can help producers strengthen both on-farm sustainability and resilience.
Last week the SA Drought Hub team joined producers, advisors, researchers, and industry for the Carbon Ready Ag Conference held at Port Pirie, and hosted by the Northern and Yorke Landscape Board.
Across the two days, more than 20 speakers explored the opportunities and challenges of carbon farming, from soil health and emissions reduction to the value of natural capital and the role of data in farm decision-making. Speakers tackled practical questions such as how carbon can be farmed, whether it can deliver new income streams for producers, and why collecting emissions data is important.
SA Drought Hub’s Technical Livestock Specialist and Adoption Officer, Dr. Penny Schulz, presented a session titled ‘Data is your Super Power’, sharing real-farm examples to demonstrate the benefits of better record-keeping and adoption of agtech in relation to carbon farming.
This was a highly topical session given the South Australian agriculture industry emits 28% of the state’s overall greenhouse gas emissions, with nearly three quarters of this attributed to the livestock sector.
Penny opened her session by acknowledging the tough few years many producers have faced, reminding the audience that “if you’re still here, you’re probably already resilient, efficient and productive- otherwise you wouldn’t be sitting here today”.
She then unpacked what sustainability really means in a livestock enterprise context, which includes being profitable, being able to withstand dry seasons as best you can, caring for and enhancing your natural resources, looking after your people (including you) and ensuring best-practice livestock health and welfare. Penny said that achieving all of this can be challenging but many producers are already doing most of these elements but might not have the evidence to demonstrate to others.
The key three: data as the driver of change
The presentation revolved around Penny’s ‘key three’ for producers:
1. Keep good records– beyond meeting LPA audit and QA schemes for premium prices, good records also allow producers to benchmark productivity, get better assessments of feed on offer and productivity gains, calculate costs of production, and identify areas for improvement. With the rollout of eID tags, capturing animal-level data (rather than flock/herd data) will become easier and more powerful, opening up opportunities for smarter management decisions.
2. Calculate your emissions– knowing your farm’s footprint (total emissions and emissions intensity) is the first step to managing it. Tools such as MLA’s Carbon Calculator enable producers to calculate net emissions on-farm, drawing on existing livestock, input, and farm records, such as the below:
- Livestock inventory: births, deaths, purchases, sales, weights and liveweight gain (LWG), weaning rates and reproductive status of animals. This contains the main information used to predict livestock-related emissions, such as enteric methane emissions. This information could exist in livestock reconciliation records for taxation or records in a livestock management program.
- Records of farm inputs: fertilisers, bought animal feed, fuel, electricity and purchases. This information is needed to estimate GHG emissions resulting from goods that you purchase from other companies. This information should be available in your tax records.
- Tree planting including area (ha), species and planting date (if available).
- General farm information (usually this can be done from memory).
3. Find the right technology– technology should make life easier, not harder. Penny emphasised that before investing, producers should be clear on the problem they are trying to solve and look for tools that integrate seamlessly with existing systems. She advised choosing platforms with strong automation features that reduce double entry and save time. Examples included the below:
Technology for whole-farm records compliance and feedback:
- AgriWebb: whole-farm record keeping, grazing management, audits, reporting, and emissions planning.
- Mobble: simple, mob-and-paddock record-keeping with mapping and compliance tools.
- Agworld: collaborative planning and compliance platform, great for working with agronomists or contractors.
- myMLA + myFeedback: one login to NLIS/LPA/MSA with benchmarking tools for compliance and carcase feedback.
- eNVD (Integrity Systems): mobile, offline-enabled livestock consignment app now being modernised for full digital capability.
Technology for grazing and feedbase decision support:
- MaiaGrazing: grazing planning and ‘feed demand vs supply’ tools, with drought planning supported by decision dashboards that go beyond simple record keeping.
- Cibo Labs: satellite imagery, providing pasture biomass (kg DM/ha) and ground cover data. Integrates with AgriWebb and MyFarmbot dashboards for more connected grazing and water decisions.
Technology for weighing, EID, and auto-drafting:
- Auto-drafters (Te Pari, Prattley): integrated with EID and weighing systems for more efficient livestock management.
- Optiweigh: in-paddock weighing unit for frequent, low-stress liveweight data collection.
- Gallagher Auto Weigher and Tru-Test Datamars Walk-over Weighing: portable and automated systems for capturing weight data at scale.
Technology for water, climate and infrastructure monitoring (IoT):
- Farmbot: Australian-built sensors for tank/trough/pipe monitoring, with leak and pump health alerts.
- Farmo Water Rat: portable trough and tank sensor (Telstra 4G/LTE, GPS).
- GoannaAg: IoT monitoring solutions with applications in water and climate.
- NSW DPI Agtech Toolbox: online hub showcasing a range of tools available to producers
Beyond compliance and reporting, data empowers producers to improve business decisions, reduce emissions, and strengthen resilience. As Penny emphasised, productivity gains, such as higher weaning rates, faster growth to slaughter, or improved feed efficiency can reduce emissions intensity while lifting profitability.
She stressed that the goal is not necessarily to “race to carbon neutrality” or sell credits elsewhere, but to make incremental improvements that directly benefit the farm business.
Alongside the presentation, SA Drought Hub’s Regional Soils Coordinator, Lucy, and Farming Systems Adoption Officer, Rachel, hosted the Hub’s stall. They spoke with producers, advisors and industry, sharing important resources and answering questions about soil and farming systems, including:
- Information on current and recent SA Drought Hub funded projects
- Upcoming workshops for developing a drought resilient soils project
- The new Soil Science Australia soil resource library
- information from ifarmwell resources
The Carbon Ready Ag Conference provided a timely forum for producers to explore the changing landscape of carbon markets, agtech and sustainability. For the SA Drought Hub, it was another opportunity to share practical resources and tools, local research, and producer experiences that support drought resilience and long-term sustainability.
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Read more about the Carbon Ready Ag Conference here.
To learn more about carbon farming in Livestock systems, you can contact a member of the SA Drought Hub team here.
Media contact:
Dr Penny Schulz
M: 0417 853 094
E: penny.schulz@adelaide.edu.au
