Alliance Group livestock manager Murray Behrent said Hoofprint, developed for Alliance by Dunedin-based AbacusBio, was the result of customers seeking more detail from their suppliers about how their meat was produced.
Mr Behrent told farmers at the West Otago field day this week, that Hoofprint also reflected the fact the emissions trading scheme was imminent, and from 2015 the Government intended making meat and dairy processing companies and fertiliser companies the point of obligation for agriculture.
This policy effectively averaged all animal carbon emissions over all suppliers, penalising those who have taken steps to reduce emissions and rewarding those who have done nothing.
Hoofprint is an internet-based system which allows farmers to calculate their farm's carbon dioxide emissions and allows them to identify ways to reduce those emissions. They can also compare their performance with that of their peers.
The programme is being launched next month and asks farmers a series of questions about farm management, farm inputs of fuel, fertiliser and electricity, and farm outputs, including their area of forestry.
Hoofprint has been accepted as a carbon emission tool and its details will be published in an international peer-reviewed journal, Animal Production Science.