See attached article - prepared by Lucy Skupthorp for Rural Press in Canberra. - Carbon Farming - Senate Submission
I was called as a witness to the Senate Inquiry into 'Climate Change and the Australian Agricultural Sector' this week. My allocated time on the program was 45 mins but the Committee Chair extended this to one and a half hours due to the amount of interest in soil carbon shown by the Senators.
The Senate Committee were greatly excited about the ASCAS soil carbon research - said it had enormous potential - and all agreed that soil sequestration was the logical and productive solution to adaptation to climate change.
We're in exciting times as far as soil carbon, soil biology and a 'new face for agriculture' are concerned. Must say I'm pleased to see that the ASCAS project is now receiving support at the highest levels.
The entire committee (Senators Kerry O'Brien, Steve Hutchins, Christine Milne, Julian McGauran, Rachel Siewert, Glenn Sterle [Chair], Bill Heffernan, Fiona Nash and Mary Jo Fisher) are hiring a charter plane and coming to see some of the ASCAS sites WA, Central Queensland and western NSW, in the third week of August, as part of the Inquiry. The reporting date is being put back to enable time for this to happen.
The Senate Committee want to see at first hand, resilient farm practices that enable farmers to be productive even in below average rainfall years (which apparently we're going to get a lot more of).
I've been asked to return to Canberra to appear as a witness in the Senate 'Carbon Sink' and 'Fertiliser' Inquiries later this month, so there will be plenty of opportunities for further discussion. My submission for the Fertiliser Inquiry will also present some of the data we have on the 3 to 5 fold increases in available P levels (with no added P) which are the result of increased biological activity in soil due to conversion from chemical zero till to Pasture Cropping on our ASCAS sites.
Warm regards,
Christine
