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With the Government wanting to implement huge costs on the livestock farming sector by making New Zealand the only country to include farming in an ETS, this old mutt thought it might actually get serious about funding mitigation research.
However, it seems PR stunts and warm fuzzies are the order of the day, going by its most recent effort.
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor gained huge media attention for the Government’s backing of a project that “could substantially reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions from cattle”.
But this “backing” amounted to a piffling $100,000 granted to the Cawthron Institute to see if a native seaweed might be turned into a greenhouse gas-busting cattle feed supplement.
The joke is that $100,000 is far less than O’Connor and his office staff would spend a year on travel, and apparently AgResearch has already rejected the seaweed option.
A company growing and processing seaweed with known methane-busting properties at a facility in Bluff is expanding internationally but New Zealand cattle farmers won't be getting the product anytime soon.
OPINION: A new study, published recently in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, adds to some existing evidence about a simple way to cut emissions dramatically - seaweed.
OPINION: Research across the ditch has found that seaweed doesn’t just make a tasty wrap for sushi rolls.
Federated Farmers have reiterated their support for the coalition Government to abolish the present ban on the live export of animals.
As the coalition Government mulls new regulations to reinstate the export of live animals, debate is heating up between supporters and opponents.
Managing director of Woolover Ltd, David Brown, has put a lot of effort into verifying what seems intuitive, that keeping newborn stock's core temperature stable pays dividends by helping them realise their full genetic potential.
Within the next 10 years, New Zealand agriculture will need to manage its largest-ever intergenerational transfer of wealth, conservatively valued at $150 billion in farming assets.
Boutique Waikato cheese producer Meyer Cheese is investing in a new $3.5 million facility, designed to boost capacity and enhance the company's sustainability credentials.
OPINION: The Government's decision to rule out changes to Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) that would cost every farmer thousands of dollars annually, is sensible.
Compensation assistance for farmers impacted by Mycoplama bovis is being wound up.
Selecting the reverse gear quicker than a lovestruck boyfriend who has met the in-laws for the first time, the Coalition Government has confirmed that the proposal to amend Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) charged against farm utes has been canned.
OPINION: Dust ups between rural media and PR types aren't unheard of but also aren't common, given part of the…
OPINION: The Hound hears from his canine pals in Southland that an individual's derogatory remarks on social media have left…
