B+LNZ board fees hike rejected by farmers
Red meat farmers have dealt a major blow to their umbrella farmer body, Beef + Lamb New Zealand - rejecting an increase in directors’ fees.
Beef+Lamb NZ says current Government policies will see too much carbon forestry planted and urgent change is needed.
Last week, Climate Change Minister James Shaw released a discussion paper aimed at helping shape NZ's emissions reduction plan. BLNZ says the paper contains a slight shift in how the Government is talking about the role of carbon-only exotic forestry in addressing climate change.
"We welcome the Government's recognition that fossil fuel emissions must be reduced, rather than continually offset," says chief executive Sam McIvor.
"The discussion document indicates any decision on changing the ETS rules would come by the end of 2022. We're concerned that's not fast enough given the scale and pace of land conversion happening."
McIvor says urgent action is needed to adjust the ETS and limit the amount of carbon forestry offsets available to fossil fuel emitters. NZ is the only country with a regulatory ETS that currently allows 100% carbon forestry offsetting. "We are absolutely not anti-forestry - we're concerned about carbon-only forestry. There is a better solution, where much of New Zealand's required budgets for sequestration from forestry could come from the integration of trees on sheep and beef farms, rather than through conversion of whole farms for carbon forestry."
Rural trader PGG Wrightson has revised its operating earnings guidance, saying trading conditions have deteriorated since the last market update in February.
It's been a bumper season for maize and other supplements in the eastern Bay of Plenty.
Leading farmers from around New Zealand connected to share environmental stories and inspiration and build relationships at the Dairy Environment Leaders (DEL) national forum in Wellington last month.
AgriZeroNZ, a joint venture fast-tracking emissions reduction tools for farmers, is pouring $5 million in a biotech company to develop a low emissions farm pasture with increased productivity gains.
Fonterra is teaming up with wealth app provider Sharesies to make it easier for its farmer shareholders to trade co-op shares among themselves.
Te Awamutu dairy farmers Doug, Penny, Josh and Bayley Storey have planted more than 25,000 native trees on the family farm, adding to a generations-old native forest.