Business Rural North Autumn 2021

48 | RURAL SERVICES » JTL Carbon Farming: Jason & Karin Loveridge Helping clear the air around ETS Karin and Jason Loveridge, Directors of JTL Carbon Farming Consultancy. Richard Loader J ason and Karin Loveridge have specialised in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) since the early days of it being enshrined in New Zealand legislation. Recognising the opportunity to work closely with landowners to maximise their carbon returns, the couple established JTL Carbon Farming Ltd in 2010. Jason says that at the time ETS was pretty unique, offering a new look on how a value could be placed on carbon. “That was quite an unusual thing. Essentially carbon emitters are legally required to acquire carbon to offset their liabilities and generally the way they do that is buying carbon. People have struggled to understand the law, how it works and why it’s there. But that’s why our business is here, to fill that knowledge gap and take the worry away from landowners.” Based in Stratford, Central Taranaki, JTL Carbon Farming is a small family owned and operated business that has built up a big reputation for its detailed knowledge of the legislation and a personal rapport with its clients. Solely through word of mouth, Jason and Karin have established a solid customer base that stretches from Northland to Marlborough. “We deal exclusively with the ETS side of forestry,” explains Jason. “That means registering forests, assessing land eligibility and emissions returns, new transfers, forest plotting, and carbon credit selling — all those sorts of things around the ETS. “We work with people looking at getting into carbon forest and we also offer an advisory service to lawyers and accountants, especially around things like transfer of participation when a land owner sells the land to someone else.” Hill country sheep and beef farmers looking to secure complementary income streams form JTL Carbon Farming’s core customer base, along with bee keepers who have planted manuka trees. “We’ve done a lot of work with people with woodlots of indigenous trees that are mostly natu- ral regeneration in gullies traditionally sprayed, but we’re now seeing new plantings coming through as well. “The dairy sector has been pushing for riparian plantings to be included in the scheme but gener- ally they can’t enter those areas because they’re “Essentially carbon emitters are legally required to acquire carbon to offset their liabilities and generally the way they do that is buying carbon. People have struggled to understand the law, how it works and why it’s there. But that’s why our business is here, to fill that knowledge gap and take the worry away from landowners.” not big or wide enough.” Jason says while some work is done with forest owners and investors, the large forest owners tend to look after their own ETS interests. Demystifying the ETS legislation is a key advantage for landowners tapping into the experi- ence and technical understanding offered by JTL Carbon Farming. “We make understanding and working with the ETS a whole lot easier for our clients. People don’t have to do anything other than being in contact with us every now and again to let us know about any changes. All their data is held by us and under our control. “We also use satellite imagery to make sure there hasn’t been any changes to what landown- ers are doing because when forests are lost there are financial implications.” Jason says with pending changes to legisla- tion and a shift to averaging for how carbon is accounted for, things will get a little easier for landowners who will not have to repay carbon credits at harvest time. Passionate about the work, Jason says aside from the financial benefits of carbon farming, the scheme also delivers lasting environmental benefits. Exclusive carbon forestry consultant with 10 years experience • One-on-one service Experienced in Indigenous planted and regeneration forestry and exotic plantations 06 765 8248 or 027 431 0856 jtlcarbonfarming@xtra.co.nz Great futures start with great relationships We’re proud to work with a future forward business like JTL Carbon Farming www.bakertillysr.nz