The Cool Farm Tool
enabling farmers to decrease emissions in agriculture
The Cool Farm Tool was designed to bring the complex science of agriculture and climate change to the field. The Cool Farm Tool is based on empirical research. It identifies hotspots and makes it easy for farmers to test alternative management scenarios. The Tool has been designed as a farmer-focused, action orientated and interactive greenhouse gas calculator for agriculture that
- Works across the globe and across farming systems and delivers comparable results (recognizing that empirical data on emission is heavily skewed to the global North)
- Is as management sensitive as possible, i.e. mirrors the choices that a farm managers can actually make, which affect GHGs
- Limits data requirements to information that a farm managers would typically have readily available
- Offers interactivity and results in a way that draws farmers into exploring improvement options and what-if-scenarios
The GHG results are reported in totals per crop unit or per hectare/acre and broken down by emissions category.
The tool is free to use for individual farmers for internal management. Commercial use by supply chain businesses requires a use or membership fee. The tool and fee details can be accessed at www.coolfarmtool.org
The web tool is based on an Excel model originally created by the University of Aberdeen in partnership with Unilever and the Sustainable Food Lab. The Cool Farm Tool has the backing and support of leading academics and NGOs working on sustainability in agriculture. More information about the Alliance – including case studies – is available at www.coolfarmtool.org
