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Abstract
The Australian government is introducing a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme in
2010, as part of its climate change policy. After 2015 agriculture may be covered by
this scheme. This paper examines how different broadacre farming systems may be
affected by the policy settings of this scheme. Using the bio-economic farming
systems model MIDAS (Model of an Integrated Dryland Agricultural System) the
impacts of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme on the profitability of different
broadacre farming systems in the southwest of Australia are investigated. Results show
a range of profit and enterprise impacts across the various farm types. In a scenario
where agriculture is not covered by the scheme, reductions in profit range from 7 to 12
percent, attributable to more expensive ‘covered’ inputs such as fuel and fertiliser; and
farmers reduce their use of expensive energy inputs such as chemicals and fertilisers.
In a covered scenario profits decline by 15 to 25 percent of ‘business-as-usual’ profit
and optimal farm plans involve a combination of reduced livestock numbers, the
introduction of permanent woody perennial plantations on marginal lands and other
changes to the farm enterprise mix to reduce emissions.