The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has launched a $5 million project to drive down emissions from the agriculture sector.

AgriWebb is an Australian-based agtech start-up that runs a high-tech livestock management platform. It supports sustainable cattle and sheep grazing, automating data collection from around the farm to help farmers manage resources more efficiently and produce livestock at its ideal weight.

A new grant from the CEFC Clean Energy Innovation Fund is expected to enable AgriWebb to develop tools that track methane emissions from livestock and the carbon sequestration of paddocks.

“AgriWebb allows farmers to take advantage of the digitisation that has made life easier across many other industries, minimising paperwork after a long day in the field,” says CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth.

“It collects data from gates, weigh stations, electronic tag readers and feed and water troughs, and captures in-field decisions in real time. This information gives farmers a more detailed picture of the health of the herd and pastures, allowing them to allocate resources more efficiently and to reduce carbon emissions.”

AgriWebb manages more than 14 million head of livestock across 60 million acres around the world. In Australia, more than 15 per cent of cattle and sheep stock are managed on the AgriWebb platform.

According to AgriWebb, customers using the platform in Australia have reported a 7.5 per cent improvement in productivity, as well as healthier pastures. 

Farmers say the platform improves communications between station managers and farmhands, helps avoid overgrazing, directs underweight animals to higher feed paddocks, lowers diesel emissions, reduces herbicide and pesticide use and results in fewer animal deaths.