So far more than 10 per cent of Australian pork production has estimated its greenhouse gas emissions, with the potential for nearly every piggery to reduce emissions using the PigGas Calculator.

Producer workshops and on-farm consultations conducted in each state have demonstrated to producers how they can actually use the Pork Industry Greenhouse Gas Calculator. The PigGas Calculator estimates carbon emissions using individual farm production, waste management and energy use data.

Currently, the only means by which pork producers can participate in the Australian Government’s Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI), and consequently earn Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCU’s), is to capture and burn methane emitted from the anaerobic digestion of piggery effluent.

PigGas Project Leader Ian Kruger said Australian pig producers are continually seeking more dynamic and inventive ways to reduce carbon emissions whilst also maintaining or improving profitability. These methods include reducing feed wastage, changing some production systems from flushed effluent housing to deep litter straw-based housing, identifying ways to improve energy use efficiency, and changing methods of waste treatment and land application.

"The use of the Pig Gas Calculator, as a tool to aid producers in identifying emission intensity levels, efficiencies in production and appropriate waste management systems can only aid Australian pig farmers in becoming more environmentally friendly and efficient. The reality is, in today’s economic climate anything to proactively work towards reduction in productions costs is a bonus for farmers in their quest to becoming more competitive," Mr Kruger said.

The National PigGas Extension project is funded by Ian Kruger Consulting, the Australian Government and Australian Pork Limited (APL). To-date seven piggery projects have registered with the Clean Energy Regulator and other projects are in the pipeline.

For further information contact Ian Kruger, email [email protected] or phone 0401 365 488.