Carbon conscious beef and lamb farmer Mark Wootton, Jigsaw Farms min read

After working with the University of Melbourne and the CSIRO to measure their impact and then implementing a plan to offset that carbon footprint, Jigsaw Farms achieved carbon neutrality in 2011*.

This carbon neutral goal was achieved through carbon sequestration, where Mark and Eve planted trees and managed their pastures to ensure they removed and stored (in the trees and soil) enough carbon from the atmosphere to offset their carbon footprint. In fact, Mark and Eve have planted about 670,000 trees which cover around 20 percent of land on Jigsaw Farms. Half are used for agroforestry and half for permanent vegetation.

Shelter belts for wellbeing

The permanent vegetation is used to create ‘shelter belts’ which provide a kind environment for livestock with shelter, shade and protection from the weather. Shelter belts also keep the soil warmer in winter, which results in more feed, and protect animals when they are lambing or calving which increases the chances of happy healthy mothers and newborns.
Not only are shelter belts great for livestock wellbeing, Mark has also noticed a significant increase in biodiversity since planting them.

Booming biodiversity

“When we first came here, we did we did bird surveys every month and we continue to do that. We originally had 46 species recognized, and we're now at 164 species of birds.”

The farm is much healthier than when Mark came to the property. Not only are there a lot more birds but also invertebrates in the wetland areas and greater flora variety. The farm is also certified bee friendly with the tree plantations and shelter belts acting as harbours for bees.

The journey to carbon neutrality*

According to Mark the economics of being a climate friendly farm are pretty straightforward. In his experience planting trees for shelter belts has resulted in more lambs and better wool. Happy and healthy animals are also more productive and agroforestry has provided an alternative income source. But for Mark the carbon neutral journey has always been about farming in a way that has a positive impact on the environment.

Mark’s motto is ‘we're not getting bigger, we're just getting better’. With better water quality, better soils, better trees and being carbon neutral, Jigsaw farms never has an issue with attracting labour.

Mark is committed to raising his livestock in ethical, low stress way and is proud to stand by the integrity of his product – high welfare, carbon neutral Australian beef and lamb.

* UPDATE: Mark Wootton and Eve Kantor pioneered on-farm carbon neutrality before the Paris agreement and before the industry set a carbon neutral target. A portion of the carbon sequestration that enabled them to offset the emissions of their livestock was through tree plantations. Trees have a peak sequestration period as they grow from young trees to maturity. So, as the plantations on Jigsaw Farms have now reached maturity, their carbon sequestration has slowed as it reaches saturation point. The latest carbon study on Jigsaw Farms (which is being peer reviewed) confirms that Jigsaw farm, whilst still focused on sustainable production, is no longer carbon neutral.