Sustainable agriculture: The Warrens’ journey to becoming carbon neutral

Meet Tarina and Reece Warren, the team behind the Moolooloo and Moorillah Merino sheep stations. Nestled in the Flinders Ranges, these stations and their expansion plans to accommodate 5,000 breeding ewes on 60,900 hectares epitomise their commitment to agricultural excellence. But that's not all – the Warrens also manage a thriving tourism enterprise and juggle a grain farm and physiotherapy practice on the Yorke Peninsula. Talk about keeping busy!

Now, the Warrens have set their sights on a new project and are embarking on an exciting journey towards sustainability. Driven by their proactive approach and commitment to staying ahead of market trends, their goal is to secure carbon neutral or low carbon certification for their wool production output, significantly enhancing their market position. Tarina explains, "our buyers increasingly prioritise sustainability measurements and accreditation systems like Sustainawool. We're not just responding to this trend; we're leading it. That's why we're assessing our carbon footprint before committing to audited accreditation. We're determined to stay ahead of the curve."

The Warrens commitment to responsibility and sustainability goes beyond just achieving carbon neutrality. Currently, they are investigating the possibility of carbon farming, with a project developed by a broker, based on regenerating natural vegetation on 10,000 hectares of Moolooloo. "It was important for us to know if the carbon credits we will generate in our regeneration project would cover our farm's greenhouse gas emissions and if we would have anything left over to sell on the market. For us, the most important thing was to be able to cover our own emissions first".

Enter Pinion Advisory. Tarina and Reece turned to the sustainability team for a Carbon Balance assessment, estimating the station's net emissions of greenhouse gases. The results were eye-opening – Moolooloo wasn't just carbon neutral but carbon positive, sequestering carbon at a rate that exceeded its emissions. "Knowing we have surplus capacity from our carbon project is reassuring," Tarina reflects. "It's the next step towards achieving carbon neutrality."

Pinion Advisory's Royce Pitchford is instrumental in this journey, advising the Moolooloo Board and offering a fresh perspective on decision-making. "It has been helpful to have Royce join us and provide an independent viewpoint, from crunching the numbers on our financial decisions as well as exploring different ways to achieve our goals,” Tarina mentioned.

As the Warrens' continue their sustainability investigation, one thing is evident; their passion for innovation and stewardship is shaping the future of agriculture. We can't wait to see what they do next.