Trees for farm health

Trees on farms have benefits of improving productivity and land health, as well as capturing and storing carbon.

Trees store carbon in their branches, stems, leaves, bark and roots. As trees grow, they remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and convert this into carbon to make wood. When wood rots or is destroyed (such as by fire) the carbon is returned to the air.

When carefully integrated into farms, trees can improve soil, water and biodiversity conservation, provide shade and shelter to livestock, rehabilitate unproductive land and improve the look and feel of a property. Farm productivity will increase as a result, with improved farms often having a percentage of land planted to trees which complements agricultural production.

Trees on farms can store carbon, which could offer an offset against a farm business’s greenhouse gas emissions and may be combined with other benefits such as shelter, timber production, environmental protection, added biodiversity and improved aesthetic value on-farms.

Good planning for strategic planting of trees ensures they become an asset not a liability. Well managed trees may provide extra income if harvested following appropriate approval processes.

Management options

Many farmers have revegetated degraded or unproductive sections of their farms or waterways. Farmers have shown that they can revegetate from 5 per cent to 20 per cent of their farm without loss of food or fibre production.

Identify on your farm plan areas that might be suited for shelterbelts, woodlots or wildlife areas, or for managing problem areas (unproductive or erosion prone areas) — most farms have some parcels of land that are less productive and make sensible locations for plantings.

Ensure tree species match the site conditions (such as soils and climate) and the farm objectives.

Establish new tree plantations and ensure species selection and site preparation are geared towards optimal survival and growth – find out from a local expert suitable tree species, establishment techniques for your site, suitable nurseries and revegetation contractors.

Consider growing some woodlots with tree species that can be used on-farm (for fodder, fence posts, poles or firewood), ensuring not to use species classified as weeds.

Encourage regeneration of native trees and shrubs, (for example by fencing out established native vegetation), according to a well thought-out farm plan.

Protect and manage existing native trees and shrubs from loss or damage by fire, land clearing or animals.

Use an appropriate carbon calculator to estimate how much carbon is being stored in your farm woodlot.

You could also consider participating in carbon credit or incentive schemes, noting that:

• the rate of carbon sequestration of farm trees is directly related to the type of trees, their age and how fast they grow.
• carbon credit schemes are subject to ongoing conditions and contracts, which should be thoroughly investigated before proceeding.
• or maybe you might just want to measure and record your farm carbon to balance against your own farm emissions for use in trade, market or low emissions food-fibre verification schemes (such as carbon neutral wine, milk or meat).

More information

See more pages in this series:

• Livestock methane and nitrogen emissions
• Nitrogen fertilisers — improving efficiency and saving money
• Soils and carbon for reduced emissions
• Energy use on farms
• Selling carbon from trees and soils 
• Supply chain emissions in primary production

Other resources

• Establish shelterbelts with multiple benefits – ANU Sustainable Farms
• Farmers wanting to protect their remnant vegetation can find out more about the Bushbank initiative at Nature restoration for carbon storage – BushBank Program
• Landowners can apply for a grant to plant trees under the Victorian Carbon Farming Program
• The Gippsland carbon farming guide explains how growing trees on farms for timber can sequester carbon and provide income for landholders
• Questions that should be addressed before selling carbon from farm trees or soils
• Income and expenses from tree farming/forestry operations factsheet explains the income tax consequences of engaging in forestry operations, including your entitlement to claim income tax deductions for the costs of acquiring, establishing or maintaining forest plantations.
• Registered Primary Producers may be able to claim landcare and similar expenses, including revegetation, fencing, farm water, pests, weeds etc.
• Fire preparedness and prevention expenses for primary producers fact sheet explains how to claim income tax deductions for costs you incur on fire emergency preparedness and prevention assets and activities on your primary production land.
• The value of trees – more than carbon storage explains how integrating trees into farming systems offers environmental, productivity and amenity benefits along with reducing net farm carbon emissions.