A NEW sustainability accreditation program is launching in Australia.
Not for profit group Leading Harvest, in partnership with fund manager Mutual Trust, is setting up a pilot for its sustainability program over 420,000 hectares of farm country across Australia.
The program provides farmers with a universal sustainability accreditation through its Farmland Management Standard, which standardises sustainability verification and reporting across the ag industry.
Sustainability frameworks and schemes are a hot topic in Australian agriculture, with more export markets and customers requiring accreditation before they purchase.
Some Australian grain growers have expressed dissatisfaction with formats like the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification, required to sell into European Union markets, which they say is not fit for purpose in Australian conditions.
The Leading Harvest program will address 13 key tenets: sustainable agriculture; soil health, protection of water resources, protection of crops, energy use, air quality and climate change, waste and material management, biodiversity conservation, protection of special sites, local communities, employees and farm labour, legal and regulatory compliance, management review and continual Improvement and tenant-operated operations.
The Australian program is being facilitated by Mutual Trust, which has a strong agricultural component.
The pilot scheme has attracted some big names in the Aussie corporate farming world, including Warakirri and Canada's PSP Investments, which holds a number of large scale agricultural properties in Australia, including a dairy project in conjunction with Warakirri and almond orchards on the Murray River.
Through the pilot program, Leading Harvest and those participating in the pilot will establish a Farmland Management Standard unique to Australia that reflects the agronomic, regulatory, and operating realities of the region following the model pioneered in the U.S.
Leading Harvest chief executive Kenny Fahey echoed farmer sentiments in saying there was a need for a standardised measure of sustainability suited for Australia.
"There is a pressing need in Australia's agriculture industry for a standardized, sector-wide certification for sustainability," Mr Fahey said.
"The launch of our Australian pilot program is an exciting step forward for Australia's agricultural industry, and will show that a harmonized, third-party audited approach to sustainability can unlock more value for the farming community," he said.
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