Bulk wine exports surpass packaged wine volumes
Data from February 2025 shows volumes of bulk wine exports exceeded packaged wine.
The Ministry for Primary Industries is calling on researchers to apply for funding to better measure the country’s agricultural emissions.
The funding comes from MPI’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory Research annual funding round, which recently opened for research proposals with $2.1 million available.
Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Control (UNFCCC), New Zealand must annually report its emissions through the Greenhouse Gas Inventory. This calculates and records greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and industry in the country, as well as carbon sequestration from forests. MPI administers the agricultural side of this report.
Steve Penno says, this year, MPI is seeking proposals on nine priority areas, ranging from methane to the effects of plants on emissions.
“We’re seeking research proposals to maintain and improve our agriculture, forestry and land-use inventory. It will also be used to account for mitigation technologies as they are developed and implemented on farms in New Zealand.”
Penno says the research fund is an important tool in enabling reporting to the NZ Greenhouse Gas Inventory and the UN under the Paris Climate Agreement.
He adds that accurate information is essential for developing policy and verifying that efforts to reduce agricultural emissions across the country.
In Budget 2022 the Government committed $339 million through the Climate Emergency Response Fund to accelerate development and uptake of high-impact agricultural mitigation technologies. Of this, $1.5 million was added to the Greenhouse Gas Inventory Research fund for 2022/23, taking available funding to $2.1 million for new projects over the next 12 months.
Penno says the fund also contributes to international efforts to drive down agricultural emissions.
“As one of the only developed countries with a largely pasture-based agricultural economy, we’re also able to share our research outcomes with less developed countries with similar agricultural sectors to boost their knowledge,” he adds.
The Greenhouse Gas Inventory Research funding round is opened on 14 July and closes on 12 August, with successful proposals expected to be announced in October.
Among the regular exhibitors at last month’s South Island Agricultural Field Days, the one that arguably takes the most intensive preparation every time is the PGG Wrightson Seeds site.
Two high producing Canterbury dairy farmers are moving to blended stockfeed supplements fed in-shed for a number of reasons, not the least of which is to boost protein levels, which they can’t achieve through pasture under the region’s nitrogen limit of 190kg/ha.
Buoyed by strong forecasts for milk prices and a renewed demand for dairy assets, the South Island rural real estate market has begun the year with positive momentum, according to Colliers.
The six young cattle breeders participating in the inaugural Holstein Friesian NZ young breeder development programme have completed their first event of the year.
New Zealand feed producers are being encouraged to boost staff training to maintain efficiency and product quality.
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