Northland Study: Emissions Cuts "Unsustainable" for Dairy
A five-year study has found that the cost of reducing emissions without technology may be significant and unsustainable for Northland dairy farmers.
South Canterbury processor Synlait is throwing its support behind the government’s “bold’ Zero Carbon Bill.
The company says the targets in the Bill are aligned with Synlait’s commitment to sustainability announced in June 2018.
Synlait has committed to achieve on-farm reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) by 35% per kilogram of milk solids (kgMS) by 2028, including a reduction of methane by 30%.
Synlait also has targets for its manufacturing sites and supply chain including reductions of GHGs by 50% per kilogram of finished product by 2028.
“We believe we need to play our part and help lead our industry to a low emissions future. We’re making good progress and exploring new avenues,” says Synlait’s chief executive Leon Clement.
“As part of this work we have been investigating methane reduction and are pursuing some encouraging technologies that decouple the correlation between methane generation and herd size,” says Clement.
Synlait’s farming programme Lead With Pride was also given a boost in June 2018 under the new sustainability strategy. Higher incentive payments have led to many more farmers moving towards certification, with Lead With Pride certified milk supply expected to increase 40% by the end of FY19.
The programme recognises and rewards Synlait’s milk suppliers who achieve dairy farming best practice.
Signing up to a benchmarking tool is not about competition, but about improving collectively, says Ximena Puig and Alvaro Luzardo who are 50-50 sharemilkers at a 164-hectare (effective) dairy farm in Eketāhuna in the Lower North Island.
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