Supporter Information:
AWI is a not-for-profit enterprise that conducts research, development and marketing along the worldwide supply chain for Australian wool on behalf of about 60,000 woolgrowers that help fund the company.
Their mission is to make strategically targeted investments to enhance the profitability, international competitiveness and sustainability of the Australian wool industry. To do this, they invest along the global supply chain for Australian wool to deliver outcomes that benefit Australian woolgrowers.
Website: https://www.wool.com/about-awi/
Colette Glazik
2022 Nuffield Scholar
Tasmanian woolgrower asks, ‘Carbon neutral wool – can Australia compete?’
Colette Glazik will research fairer ways to audit the greenhouse gas emissions from wool production in Australia, thanks to a 2022 Nuffield Scholarship supported by Australian Wool Innovation (AWI).
A former public sector employee and qualified lawyer, Colette, her partner Joey McKibben and their two children moved to her parents’ farm, ‘Lewisham’ at Ross, as part of their succession plan. They run a self-replacing Poll Merino flock.
“We have a strong focus on sustainability and animal welfare – we were early adopters of the Responsible Wool Standard certification in Australia,” Colette says.
When a long-time wool buyer asked the family to have their farm’s carbon emissions assessed, they were happy to participate.
“We have a low input farm, use cell grazing principles, and have substantial areas of old growth trees excluded from livestock. However, the methodology used did not take this into account and there a seemed to be other glitches, which resulted in our wool having a poor carbon credit rating,” Colette says.
Colette will compare methodologies and data used to conduct carbon audits on wool producing sheep farms in Australia and internationally. She will also seek to understand which on-farm practices are helping wool producers achieve carbon neutral (or low carbon emissions) status.
“I hope that my research will provide wool producers more clarity on their path to carbon neutral farming.”
“I would also like to identify areas of current carbon accounting methodology that require further research with the aim of finding solutions that can be adopted by policy makers so carbon accounting is fit for purpose for wool growers.”
With a Nuffield Scholarship supported by Australian Wool Innovation, Colette plans to travel to New Zealand, Argentina, Portugal, Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany and South Africa, to research this topic to ensure the long-term competitiveness of the Australian wool industry.
Ph: 0400 001 385