Emissions life-cycle assessment for the Australian export fodder industry

Action on climate change is accelerating around the world, driving changes across all sectors – including agriculture. Agrifood value chains are starting to expect their suppliers to demonstrate action on emissions reduction – first by understanding and quantifying their major emissions sources, and then by acting on them.

This driver is true across all agricultural industries, and fodder is no exception. As a key input into animal agriculture, fodder production emissions often represent a large part of total emissions from raising livestock. Downstream customers will need to know the emissions of the fodder they purchase to understand and report the total environmental footprint of their own production.  

This project will deliver a life-cycle assessment of the Australian export fodder industry, taking an end-to-end view of its supply chains and production systems. It will map major emissions sources across the life cycle of a fodder product and develop a constructive and actionable roadmap for the industry, identifying priority areas for emissions reduction and future research.

Understanding emissions can pay off. Similar work to understand and demonstrate the life cycle emissions of the Australian canola industry has helped preserve our access to the lucrative EU market, valued at over $2 billion per year.

This research will help Australia keep abreast of international developments, maintain or gain access to key export markets, and continue to grow an environmentally and economically sustainable export fodder industry.