No reason to demonise farming
OPINION: New Zealand has said it is going to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by ‘a lot’ and ‘in a short time’. One of those gases is methane. Our biggest producer of methane is livestock farming.
Soil's ability to store carbon and contain greenhouse gases could globally limit climate warming, says a University of Sydney expert.
University of Sydney Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and Environment Professor of Soil Science Alex McBratney, and colleagues, have published an essay on the topic in The Conversation to coincide with yesterday's global soil focus.
McBratney had many things to say about an international research programme launched by France's agriculture minister called '4 pour mille' or '4 per 1000', a project which sets a target of increasing the amount of carbon-containing organic matter in the world's soils by 0.4% a year.
McBratney says, "The world's soils could be a key ally in the fight to limit global warming to 2°C. Soils' ability to store carbon and contain greenhouse gases could be game-changing in the global effort to limit climate warming.
"Soils are able to store approximately 2.4 trillion tonnes of carbon, making it the largest terrestrial carbon pool. The top two metres of the planet's soils hold four times the amount of carbon stored in all the world's plants.
"The '4 per 1000' target proposed by France's agriculture minister is an ambitious aspiration, but perhaps even more important is the effect this initiative will have on promoting good soil management which will ultimately help to mitigate climate change."
Newly appointed National Fieldays chief executive Richard Lindroos says his team is ready, excited and looking forward to delivering the four-day event next month.
More than 70 farmers from across the North and South Islands recently spent a dayand- a-half learning new business management and planning skills at Rabobank Ag Pathways Programmes held in Invercargill, Ashburton and Hawera.
Government ministers cannot miss the ‘SOS’ – save our sheep call - from New Zealand farmers.
A tax advisory specialist is hailing a 20% tax deduction to spur business asset purchases as a golden opportunity for agribusiness.
Sheep and beef farmers have voted to approve Beef + Lamb New Zealand signing an operational agreement between the agricultural sector and the Government on foot and mouth disease readiness and response.
The head of the New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers organisation NZKGI says the points raised in a report about the sector by Waikato University professor Frank Scrimgeour were not a surprise.
OPINION: Imagine if the Hound had called the Minister of Finance the 'c-word' and accused her of "girl math".
OPINION: It's good news that Finance Minister Nicola Willis has slashed $1.1 billion from new spending, citing "a seismic global…