Fonterra's New Roadmap Targets Climate, Nature, Animals
Climate, nature and animal wellbeing make up Fonterra's refreshed sustainability roadmap released last week.
OPINION: A mate of yours truly wonders if the rush by some to implement taxes on agricultural emissions might just leave the country’s farmers in the proverbial.
“Has anyone considered that if a bull harvests say 10 kilograms of DM a day and puts out less methane while digesting it – ( i.e. it farts and belches a little less than the bull next door),” he asks.
“What happens when he excretes? Does his sh*t emit more methane on the ground than the next door’s bull does?”
Old mate suggests the industry need to ‘get to the bottom of this crap’ and analyse the whole process.
If we don’t, he suggests farming in NZ will become “unprofitable, un-bankable and unsustainable”.
He wonders if we are being fed with a whole lot of “bulls*t” and will find ourselves “soundly in the crap”.
Farmgate lamb prices are down by 8%, beef cattle by 4.5% and farm expenditure up by 4.2%.
Kiwifruit growers are watchful but remain optimistic as concerns around the potential effects of the El Niño weather pattern this season.
Almond hulls sourced from Australian orchards may have the potential to help New Zealand cows reduce emissions, boost milk yield and lower input costs.
Striking a balance between meeting the needs of industry to speed up approval time for products but on the other hand ensuring that risks are properly assessed.
Surprised, humbled and quite thrilled. That’s the reaction of James Allen, one of the founding partners and now chief executive of AgFirst, on being made a life member of the Institute of Rural Professionals.