increase font size
Tim Mackle.
DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle says the new Dairy Action for Climate Change combines raising the dairy sector’s awareness of the issue and taking positive steps to mitigate the problem.
Mackle says New Zealand does have high greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, about a quarter of these attributable to the dairy industry.
A plan to deal with dairy’s GHG emissions was unveiled at Fieldays by the Minister for Climate Change, Paula Bennett. The plan is for DairyNZ, Fonterra, the Ministries for Primary Industries and the Ministry of Environment to research ways of mitigating GHGs and passing this knowledge on to dairy farmers to deal with in practical ways onfarm.
Ten farms nationwide, with different systems, will model what is possible in different environments to mitigate GHGs. Fonterra will also run a farm GHG-recording pilot scheme in which up to 100 of their suppliers will report GHG emissions on their farms.
There are also plans to host eight rural professional climate change workshops to boost awareness of the issue and to have 12 climate-change dairy farmers champion the awareness campaign.
Starting immediately is a Massey University GHG course to train 60 rural professionals.
The programme is intended to raise awareness of climate change and to get the rural community ready to support farmers. It will also raise rural professionals’ capability to deal with GHG issues.
Mackle says the industry must show leadership and that science is a key component in resolving the issue.
“Dairy farmers and the scientists working alongside them must show they are serious about improving the environment. This plan lays the foundation for dairy’s sustained, strategic approach to a lower carbon future.
“We’re taking the first steps in understanding what dairy can do – with the wider agricultural sector, industry and urban communities – to help meet NZ’s Paris Agreement emissions reduction target.
“Our farmers are already working on lowering emissions; they are used to rising to challenges and they’re dedicated stewards of their land who want to do the right thing by the environment.”
Mackle says addressing onfarm emissions is among the most challenging issues facing the dairy and food producing sectors, globally and in NZ. The two most critical issues are methane, formed when ruminant animals burp, and nitrous oxide, formed when nitrogen escapes into the atmosphere.
He says reducing onfarm emissions will not be easy. “It requires our Government and the agricultural sector to work together; the plan is an important part of a broader work programme underway.”
Fonterra’s chief operating officer Farm Source, Miles Hurrell, says it is crucial to take an integrated approach to all the challenges facing dairy, e.g. climate change, animal welfare and protecting waterways, while maintaining dairy’s productivity and profitability.
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has joined the debate around the proposed sale of Fonterra’s consumer and related businesses, demanding answers from the co-operative around its milk supply deal with the buyer, Lactalis.
OPINION: Farmer shareholders of two of New Zealand's largest co-operatives have an important decision to make this month and what they decide could change the landscape of the dairy and meat sectors in New Zealand.
The dairy sector is in a relatively stable position, with strong milk price payout forecasts continuing to offset ongoing high farm costs, according to DairyNZ.
OPINION: As CEO of the Dairy Board in the 1980s I was fortunate to work with a team of experienced and capable executives who made most of the brand investments that created the international consumer business Fonterra inherited. Soprole in Chile was the largest, but there were more than 20 countries where consumer marketing companies were established and Anchor and other brands were successfully launched.
Fonterra has delivered a fifth straight year of record organic milk price for farmer suppliers.
Like many manufacturers around the world, European agricultural machinery and tractor manufacturers are currently operating in a difficult market environment. But they are heading to the world’s largest agricultural machinery event in Hanover next month with a degree of cautious optimism.
Established in 2021, the John Deere Technician of the Year Awards champion the important contribution parts and service technicians make to the Australian and New Zealand agriculture, construction and forestry industries.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) is calling on farmers from all regions to take part in the final season of the Sheep Poo Study aiming to build a clearer picture of how facial eczema (FE) affects farms across New Zealand.
New Zealand is closer to eradicating bovine TB than ever before, but possums remain a threat, says Beef + Lamb New Zealand.
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has joined the debate around the proposed sale of Fonterra’s consumer and related businesses, demanding answers from the co-operative around its milk supply deal with the buyer, Lactalis.
The ACT Party says media reports that global dairy giant Nestle has withdrawn from the Dairy Methane Action Alliance shows why New Zealand needs to rethink its approach to climate.
OPINION: Dairy industry players are also falling by the wayside as the economic downturn bites around the country.
OPINION: Methane Science Accord, a farmer-led organisation advocating for zero tax on ruminant methane, will be quietly celebrating its first…
