Green Sheep Project launched at Agfest

It is hoped that a new project will help sheep producers increase, measure, and manage their environmental sustainability, enabling them to increase productivity, improve on-farm environmental credentials, and strengthen access to key markets.

The national Green Sheep project was launched at Agfest, with NRM South to deliver it in Tasmania.

The federal government will be pitching in $3 million for the project.

Kelvedon Estate on the East Coast, which runs around 8500 merino sheep, is one of the farms taking part in the project.

“I’m really excited to be part of the Green Sheep project to understand what our carbon position is and how we can then market ourselves along the supply chain to the end user,” farm manager Anna Cotton said.

Dungrove in the Central Highlands is also taking part in the Green Sheep Project.

“Our approach to farming has always been to work with nature and not against it, and to look after the land with the next generation in mind,” Rosie Downie from Dungrove said.

“That looks like rotational grazing, planting mixed species of grasses to enhance carbon sequestration and biodiversity, and also shifting the sheep up into the highlands and then back into the low country across the summer and winter periods to rest the land and to give some reprieve from the winter months.”

Ms Downie said she believed that farmers could be sustainable while being financially sustainable.

“We’ve noticed a shift towards, particularly corporates, caring more and more about nature and biodiversity, and realising that the loss of nature and biodiversity actually impacts the big businesses as well.”

Sheep Producers Australia CEO Bonnie Skinner said the launch marked a significant step forward for the industry.

“The Green Sheep Project is an investment in the long-term success for our industry,” Ms Skinner said.

“Producers are increasingly being asked to provide evidence around sustainability and natural capital outcomes, and this project is about making sure the sheep is prepared and producers are supported.

“What makes this project powerful is the whole-of-industry approach - from producers to processors, NRM organisations and supply chain partners - all working together to build the capability the industry needs to measure, communicate and respond to changing expectations.”