Editorial: Time for a reset
OPINION: The Government's recent announcement that methane targets will be reviewed is bringing relief to farmers.
Farmers are unsure about what they can and should do to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, says the director of the NZ Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Centre.
Dr Harry Clark told the Agricultural Climate Change conference last week in Palmerston North that the broader rural professional sector lacks clear information, expertise and knowledge of GHGs.
He attributes this partly to the greater emphasis on water issues in recent years, and now the focus must be on to GHGs.
“Just as when the focus came on water there had to be a lot of up-skilling by rural professionals and knowledge transfer on how to handle water,” he said.
“We are now in the same position with GHGs. We need advice and knowledge, and I think we can catch up relatively quickly.”
Clark says agricultural emissions are an extremely important issue for NZ. But we need to balance any reduction in our emissions with our economic performance and consider what the impact that would be on the farming community.
“How do we grapple with trying to get agriculture to reduce in the context of maintaining a vibrant rural and national economy? That isn’t an easy balance to achieve,” he said. “There are many competing interests. We need to... grasp the opportunities and minimise the threats.”
The dairy sector could reduce stocking rates but still maintain profitability and reduce GHG emissions, Clark says.
“That would be the kind of win-win scenario we are looking for.”
Many at the conference discussed farmers’ needs for financial incentives to enable them to make changes. One delegate claimed the best way to send messages to farmers is to write them on a cheque. But Clark says while financial incentives may be one way of changing farmer behaviour, another is the reality of the demands from discerning customers in some of NZ’s high value markets.
“In international markets you have to meet certain environmental standards just to be in the marketplace – not necessarily to get a reward. But meeting those standards is critical for access to that market,” he told the conference.
Clark says farmers must think carefully about the social licence to farm and must work within the social boundaries people find acceptable. These boundaries change and everyone works within a socially dynamic environment.
“Farmers are under pressure from the broader NZ population to do their bit for climate change, so achieving this transcends just a simple profitability issue. It goes into what is acceptable in the general society,” he said.
A vet is calling for all animals to be vaccinated against a new strain of leptospirosis (lepto) discovered on New Zealand dairy farms in recent years.
Two major red meat sector projects are getting up to a combined $1.7 million in funding from the New Zealand Meat Board (NZMB).
Angus Barr and Tara Dwyer of The Wandle, Lone Star Farms in Strath Taieri have been named the Regional Supreme Winners at the Otago Ballance Farm Environment Awards in Dunedin.
OPINION: The distress that the politicians and bureaucrats are causing to the people of Wairoa and the wider Tairāwhiti is unforgivable.
Dairy
Rural banker Rabobank is partnering with Food Rescue Kitchen on a new TV series which airs this weekend that aims to shine a light on the real and growing issues of food waste, food poverty and social isolation in New Zealand.
OPINION: The new government has clearly signalled big cuts across the public service.
OPINION: Your canine crusader is not surprised by the recent news that New Zealand plant-based ‘fake meat’ business is in…