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OPINION: New Zealand's efforts to cut its methane output from cows is making international news.
Bloomberg reports that cows in New Zealand are getting a cocktail typically associated with hipsters in New York or London.
The report says branded Kowbucha, as nod to the popular fermented drink kombuch, is being tested by one of the world's biggest dairy producers, Fonterra, to see if it can reduce the amount of methane burped out by the country's 4.9 million cows.
"The supplement is the latest effort by the nation's farmers to solve an increasingly pressing problem of livestock emissions as it pledges to become carbon neutral. Unlike most developed economies, New Zealand is heavily dependent on agriculture, expecially cows and sheep.
"Fonterra has cultures that Kiwi farmers have collected since the 1920s for making cheeses and yoghurts and is now testing which ones can reduce the amount of methane cows burp when they digest grass and feed."
OPINION: Among the many satisfying jobs on the farm is shifting our Angus heifers onto fresh pasture. They love it. Tails up, they gallop around for a minute, then it’s heads down — those long, raspy tongues pulling in mouthfuls of lush green feed.
The Government's revised 2050 biogenic methane target range of 14-24% by 2050 is being welcomed by dairy farmers.
Opening a new $3 million methane research barn in Waikato this month, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay called on the dairy sector to “go as fast as you can and prove the concepts”.
OPINION: We are endlessly told that livestock are responsible for half of New Zealand's total emissions.
OPINION: Ruminant methane mitigation tools were a bit of a joke when first proposed; surely no one would be foolish enough to interfere with nature at its best. Any such propaganda from our sector on mitigation went straight into file 13.
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson says his party – NZ First - isn’t opposed to the “trade element” of a free trade deal with India.
The managing director of a company seeking to build a solar farm in Canterbury says receiving fast-track approval is a “really positive outcome”.
Retiring MP and dairy farmer Mark Cameron is blasting the Green Party for proposing to ban the use of synthetic fertiliser and cutting cow numbers.
A huge reduction in ACC claims from on-farm accidents over the last five years is due to thousands of small, practical decisions being made in sheds, yards, paddocks and around kitchen tables across the country, says Safer Farms ambassador Lindy Nelson.
Wayne and Ange Moxham of Horowhenua have just been named as Fonterra's top organic performer for milksolids. As well as providing organic milk to Fonterra, the couple also sell Udderly Organic milk to more than 100 outlets in the region and are embarking on another exciting venture producing organic gelato. Reporter Peter Burke went along to see their farming operation.
Certainty and a clear understanding of the needs of rural communities is a critical outcome in the series of government reforms that are taking place at present.
OPINION: Staying on Plan Change 1, NZ First deputy leader Shane Jones took to social media to gain some political…
OPINION: All eyes are on the Government as Waikato farmers seek urgent help to fend off the controversial Plan Change…
