As the livestock sector accelerates efforts to reduce emissions, Zero Net Emissions Agriculture CRC is spotlighting one of the most practical and scalable solutions available to producers - pasture.
The CRC’s new Pathways to Zero Net Emissions booklet, launching at its annual conference in Brisbane on November 27–28, showcases how methane-busting pasture systems can deliver real on-farm impact.
As well as highlighting existing options, Professor Ben Hayes, Research Director for the Zero Net Emissions Agriculture CRC, said the conference would feature new projects underway across Australia to identify and develop pasture species that can help cattle and sheep emit less methane, while also improving productivity.
“One of the first things we’re going to do is look across a huge range of pasture species, particularly in northern Australia, for pastures that have naturally occurring compounds that reduce methane,” Professor Hayes said.
“And one of the major ones there is tannin. So just like you find in your tea, if cattle and sheep consume tannin, it reduces the amount of methane they produce.”
The team’s work is focused on finding cost-effective solutions that work in extensive grazing systems, rather than relying solely on feedlot-based additives.
“We see pastures as a very cost-effective way of reducing methane, if we can discover those species,” Professor Hayes said. “It’s really targeted at grazing cattle and sheep, and that’s probably been the hardest task in reducing methane.”
One promising species already showing results is leucaena, which has been widely planted in Queensland. “It turns out it also reduces methane by about 20%,” he said.
The research, led by Queensland’s Department of Primary Industries with partners including the WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, the Northern Territory Government, AACo and the Yawuru Indigenous organisation in the Kimberley, is part of a broader CRC focus on productivity and emissions outcomes.
“These are new projects, just launched,” Professor Hayes said. “We’ve also got projects focused on the south… it’s really about taking those species and putting them into pasture mixes, agronomic packages to release to farmers.”
Professor Hayes will present at the upcoming Zero Net Emissions Agriculture CRC Conference, sharing how the organisation’s 10-year research portfolio aims to deliver both productivity and emissions reductions across the sector.
“All the projects we fund and invest in, they have to have a positive impact on productivity as well as emissions reduction,” he said.
Organisers are encouraging producers to attend to see firsthand how research like this can deliver practical, on-farm benefits.
The conference will be held from November 27-28, 2025, at the University of Queensland, Brisbane.
Tickets are available at ZNE-Ag CRC Annual Conference | Zero Net Emissions Agriculture CRC.