Ministry for the Environment to sponsor Ballance Farm Environment Award
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
The Ministry for the Environment's 2021 Greenhouse Gas Inventory says that for the year 2019, agriculture was New Zealand's biggest emitting sector.
The Ministry for the Environment’s (MfE) 2021 Greenhouse Gas Inventory revealed that for the year 2019, agriculture was among the two largest contributors to New Zealand’s gross Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions.
The report, which documents all of New Zealand’s human-generated greenhouse gas emissions and removals since 1990, shows that New Zealand’s gross emissions were 82.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2-e) in 2019.
The report states that emissions for the agriculture sector made up 48% of New Zealand’s gross emissions.
It also states that between 1990 and 2019, gross emissions increased by 26%, largely down to increases in methane from dairy cattle digestive systems and carbon dioxide from road transport.
On the whole, gross emissions in 2019 comprised 46% carbon dioxide, 42% methane, 10% nitrous oxide and 2% fluorinated gases.
The Greenhouse Gas Inventory is collated as one of New Zealand’s mandatory reporting obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol.
It informs MfE policy recommendations on climate change and includes data that helps monitor New Zealand’s progress towards emissions reduction targets.
Federated Farmers says almost 2000 farmers have signed a petition launched this month to urge the Government to step in and provide certainty while the badly broken resource consent system is fixed.
Zespri’s counter-seasonal Zespri Global Supply (ZGS) programme is underway with approximately 33 million trays, or 118,800 tonnes, expected this year from orchards throughout France, Italy, Greece, Korea, and Japan.
Animal owners can help protect life-saving antibiotics from resistant bacteria by keeping their animals healthy, says the New Zealand Veterinary Association.
According to analysis by the Meat Industry Association (MIA), New Zealand red meat exports reached $827 million in October, a 27% increase on the same period last year.
The black and white coat of Holstein- Friesian cows is globally recognised as a symbol of dairy farming and a defining trait of domestic cattle. But until recently, scientists didn’t know which genes were responsible for the Holstein’s spots.
According to the New Zealand Dairy Statistics 2024/25 report, New Zealand dairy farmers are achieving more with fewer cows.