![Rebecca Gorman on her farm 35km East of Wagga. Picture supplied Rebecca Gorman on her farm 35km East of Wagga. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/200569959/429b2eec-a02d-4d76-87b3-6068ae3d5b34.jpg/r0_388_4160_2727_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
When Rebecca Gorman bought her farm 10 years ago, she knew she wanted to prioritise working with the natural environment.
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Now, she has the numbers to show just how well she's done.
The grazier's farm 35 kilometres east of Wagga has hosted an innovative trial to capture her property's natural capital - the resources on a property before it is cultivated by humans, including biodiversity like trees and animals, and the quality of the soil.
Ms Gorman's property was selected as one of 50 sites for an innovative La Trobe University initiative to teach farmers how to unlock the power of their natural capital.
"One of the reasons I thought it was achievable to go back into farming was I had come across a range of farming methodologies that worked with the environment so you could match conservation and productivity," she said.
"I would call myself a grass farmer. A lot of people operating in my context would would say their primary enterprise is growing grass.
"I just happen to use cows - ruminants - to convert that grass into dollars. The cattle themselves do a fantastic job of repairing the soil and helping grass grow."
The Farm-scale Natural Capital Accounting trial has been a four-year program led by lead researcher Jim Radford.
It seeks to provide tools for farmers to expand their accounting practices to include the natural capital on their properties.
The goal is to create detailed accounts of the "free" resources on a property to support farmers seeking better environmental credentials.
Dr Radford said as people around the world demand more sustainably sourced food, tools like this will become a necessity in the future.
"There's an idea you can't have both nature and agricultural production. In fact, the converse is true - you can't have agricultural production without nature," he said.
"What the accounts do is put natural capital on the books, next to your financial capital. Increasingly, there's pressure on primary producers to demonstrate their environmental credentials.
"They allow farmers to plan and manage their farms so they get the best out of the free services nature provides, but also they can demonstrate that to their buyers, their bank or their insurer."
The finalisation of this trial coincides with the passage of the government's nature repair bill, which will tighten regulations on environmental offsets to prevent greenwashing.
The reformed scheme would issue landholders certificates for projects that protect or expand the biodiversity on their farm.
Members of the business community have criticised the plan for being overly prescriptive about what will constitute regenerative management under the scheme.
Critics of existing biodiversity and carbon markets argue they lack credibility as a meaningful way to repair damage to the natural environment.
Dr Radford said measures like natural capital accounting could make it easier for farmers undertaking a wide range of conservation activities to take part in these markets.
"This is really important because 58 per cent of Australia is managed by farmers ... the future of biodiversity will be won or lost in agriculture landscapes, and we need to manage those better and reward farmers for looking after biodiversity" he said.
"Our aspiration is [the accounts] will enable farmers to leverage the work they've put in, that sustainable practice and get a benefit through the supply chain.
"Mostly through sustainably conscious brands, or able to sell to Woolies or Coles if they're fair dinkum about selling products that are low impact or building natural capital."
![Rebecca Gorman has taken part in the natural capital accounting trial to better understand the natural assets of her farm. Picture supplied Rebecca Gorman has taken part in the natural capital accounting trial to better understand the natural assets of her farm. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/200569959/c66ed762-6a45-4edc-8e0b-2351f78c3b58.jpg/r0_0_3120_4160_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
For Ms Gorman, it's not about market access - she sees the effect of preserving natural capital on her farm every day.
"What we're talking about is trying to fast-track the repair of nature in as many contexts as we can," she said.
"I happen to manage land, and so my goal is to repair nature in that context as thoroughly and fast as I can.
"We know the better we manage our land, the better we can manage our local water cycle and the cooler we can make that area. There's a direct link to the climate crisis we're in."
The federal government secured Greens support for the nature repair bill in exchange for greater protection for waterways against contamination from gas drilling.