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Beef + Lamb NZ chair Kate Acland.
There is an urgent need for the Government to put a limit on the sale of farms for forestry - particularly for carbon farming.
That's the plea from the Beef + Lamb NZ chair Kate Acland who says the latest statistics show that since the end of 2022 more than 51,000ha of farmland has been sold to forestry interests. She says this far exceeds the 25,500ha the Climate Change Commission has recommended should be sold in any given year.
Acland adds that between 2017 and the end of June this year, a total of 261,733ha have been sold and believes this figure will turn out to be higher given the lag time in producing the statistics. She says there's already been a significant decline in stock numbers because of afforestation over the past few years.
"We estimate for every 100,000 hectares planted close to one million stock units are lost. While on one hand the decline in stock numbers means our sector has already dramatically reduced its overall greenhouse gas emissions and warming impact, the way it's happening is simply not sustainable," she says.
Acland says B+LNZ is not anti-forestry and says they support the integration of trees on farms. But say they just want some limits aroud the conversion of whole farms into forestry for carbon credits.
"We welcome the Government's intention to announce measures before Christmas and note that the National Party's pre-election manifesto sets out a sensible platform to work from," she says.
Progeny testing at Pāmu’s Kepler farm in Southland as part of Beef + Lamb New Zealand’s Informing New Zealand Beef programme is showing that the benefits of hybrid vigour could have a massive impact on the future of beef breeding.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) has reiterated calls for New Zealand to revise its methane targets after the Government's "disappointing" announcement of its revised Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) is having another crack at increasing the fees of its chair and board members.
Next month, the Beef Breeder Forum is set to give farmers an opportunity to hear about the latest developments in the beef industry.
More than 260 people gathered at Muller Station in Marlborough recently to celebrate the 2024 Westpac + OsGro Marlborough Farmer of the Year winner.
The 2025 South Island Agricultural Field Days (SIAFD) chairman, Rangiora farmer Andrew Stewart, is predicting a successful event on the back of good news coming out of the farming sector and with it a greater level of optimism among farmers.
WorkSafe New Zealand is calling on farmers to consider how vehicles move inside their barns and sheds, following a sentencing for a death at one of South Canterbury’s biggest agribusinesses.
Now is not the time to stop incorporating plantain into dairy pasture systems to reduce nitrogen (N) loss, says Agricom Australasia brand manager Mark Brown.
Building on the success of last year's events, the opportunity to attend People Expos is back for 2025, offering farmers the chance to be inspired and gain more tips and insights for their toolkits to support their people on farm.
Ballance Agri-Nutrients fertiliser SustaiN – which contains a urease inhibitor that reduces the amount of ammonia released to the air – has now been registered by the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI). It is the first fertiliser in New Zealand to achieve this status.
Precision application of nitrogen can improve yields, but the costs of testing currently outweigh improved returns, according to new research from Plant and Food Research, MPI and Ravensdown.
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