Fonterra's New Roadmap Targets Climate, Nature, Animals
Climate, nature and animal wellbeing make up Fonterra's refreshed sustainability roadmap released last week.
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) says it is seeking research proposals to help improve New Zealand’s reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, forestry, and other land uses.
The annual funding round for the Greenhouse Gas Inventory Research (GHGIR) fund is now open, with $2.9 million of funding available for new GHGIR projects in the 2024/25 financial year.
MPI director of programmes and planning, policy and trade, Stephanie Preston says the fund focuses on improving knowledge of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions, to ensure the best possible data is available to help manage New Zealand’s emissions and inform policy decisions.
“This year we’re looking for very specific proposals in 10 priority areas, ranging from improving liveweight estimation of sheep and beef to exploring remote sensing methods of collecting data, such as using satellite data to measure feed type and quality,” Preston says.
The priorities for this year’s funding round include non-forest land-use emissions model; a review and improvements to energy equations and intake; new afforestation and deforestation intentions survey; seasonal dairy supplementary feed data intake; and improved activity data and parameters for deer.
Preston says the outcomes will inform MPI’s reporting to the New Zealand Greenhouse Gas Inventory and the United Nations under the Paris Climate Agreement.
The annual Greenhouse Gas Inventory reports on human-induced emissions and removals of greenhouse gases for energy, industrial processes, agriculture, land use, land use change and forestry, and waste.
The inventory is produced by government agencies, with MPI responsible for producing the chapter on agricultural emissions. The report is submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change secretariat each year.
DairyNZ deputy chair Cameron Henderson has been re-appointed unopposed for another term.
Farms across the upper North Island are trialling different pasture mixes as part of a research programme that aims to build greater resilience into farming systems.
Election years are always a concerning time for farmers, according to DairyNZ chair Tracy Brown.
The Ballance Farm Environment Awards are coming to the West Coast of the South Island.
Most dairy regions around the country have had a pretty good season so far says Tracy Brown.

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