Massey Uses Portable Analyser to Measure Pasture Soil GHGs
Researchers at Massey University are using a special piece of scientific equipment to improve the measurement of greenhouse gas emissions from pasture soils.
Public attitudes are very strong on environmental issues such as clean water and that is driving policy according to the Director of the Farmed Landscapes Research Centre (FLRC) at Massey University.
Professor Chris Anderson told Dairy News at the 33rd FLRC annual workshop in Palmerston North last week, that clearly the public wants clean water.
He says calls for action on this and other environmental issues are coming from a broad cross section of society and they are being motivated to do so based on the situation in NZ but also other climate related events overseas – such as the Australian bush fires.
But he says not everyone in society understands the issues.
“We deal a lot with schools and even there you have got some people there who are really environmentally strong and focused, but some that haven’t got there yet and haven’t made that change. It is the same when we talk to public bodies - there is a difference of opinion there as well,” he says.
Anderson says the science to deal with such issues has always been there and that a lot of good science has been done over a long period.
He says the FLRC has been heavily involved in this work and says the great thing is that they have been given the independence to do the science without any interference from other organisations or groups.
He says while some countries such as Ireland have similar environmental issues, their regulatory system is more complex because it not only has to take account of local issues, but has to do this within the wider European Union rules.
LIC shareholders have elected a new North Island representative to the co-operative's Board, along with five representatives to its Shareholder Reference Group (SRG), following the company's Annual Meeting held in Invercargill.
Farmers across parts of Southland and South Otago are continuing to deal with difficult conditions after a prolonged run of wet weather, with pressure building around feed supply, stock management, pasture damage, farm infrastructure and everyday workloads.
Federated Farmers says it welcomes Labour's commitment to reviewing the Sharemilking Agreements Act, calling on other major parties to do the same.
For Canterbury dairy farmers Sian Meijer and Rick Wobben, wearable technology has become one of their most valuable on-farm tools - helping manage 1850 cows across an expansive, high-performing dairy operation while improving efficiency, mating outcomes and day-to-day decision making.
Fonterra has unveiled its annual results for the 2026 financial year, posting $27 billion in revenue and close to $20 billion returned to New Zealand farmer owners and unit holders.
The first major update to the Dairy Cattle Code of Welfare in more than a decade has been released, marking what DairyNZ describes as an important step in ensuring animal welfare standards continue to evolve alongside scientific evidence and on-farm realities.