Opinion
20 FARMERS WEEKLY – farmersweekly.co.nz – January 24, 2022
EDITORIAL
Accounting for the price of carbon
C
ARBON is the common element of all known life on earth. It’s also the common element in every disagreement over earth’s future. Or so it seems, these days. As a species, we’re changing the climate, quickly, and now we’re taking steps to rectify that. But here, those efforts to balance carbon emissions with carbon capture are having profound effects on families, communities and our primary sector. These land-use changes have happened before but our most recent transformation, from sheep and beef to dairy, tended to involve farm owners staying in charge and staying in profit. What is clear is that the world is only headed in one direction and while the clean transition will be a bumpy ride, it will happen. The free market will reward those who develop sustainable tools and strategies and who emit less. Our primary sector could, perversely, sustain collateral damage despite being the poster child for efficient protein production. The solution is to take stock of what’s important to us. There are many ways to reach our targets and we must implement a plan that reflects our unique nation. There are not many developed countries in the world that rely so heavily on food production to make their living. As it stands the market is rewarding the replacement of that food production with trees. Capturing carbon is important, but surely we can do that while sustaining our farming sector and meeting our emissions targets. To do that, the market needs checks in place to protect what we hold dear. And we need to relearn a lesson from the past – that evolution has always been a part of farming and those that adapt quickest will reap the benefits. Enabling that evolution to occur in a way that reflects our values is the challenge right now.
Bryan Gibson
LETTERS
Trusting the tried and tested I WRITE in reference to Sue Edmonds contribution from the Pulpit on December 13. It is time people understood that we are already amongst the most regenerative farmers in the world. We have soil carbon levels at world best, caused by 100 years of rotational grazing and use of legume-based pastures. I have two scientist friends who have led successful ‘regenerative agriculture’ projects restoring depleted and overgrazed soils in Outer Mongolia and China. This was largely done by stopping overgrazing and starting rotational grazing systems using location specific legumes. Just like we have done in New Zealand. Some of the regenerative practices advocated by Edmonds and others will have
profound effects. Examples include using up to a dozen pasture species in a sward and grazing them, when they are like hay crops. We know that won’t sustain dairy production at current levels, and have a high probability of producing half the DM we currently do. The science has been done on this – and published. Regeneralists also don’t like weed sprays or ‘chemical’ fertilisers. We know that low rates of specific herbicides are very effective. Stopping the use of them will see the hills covered in nodding thistles and ragwort, while the heavy soils will be covered in buttercup. This is inconsistent with the principles of kaitiakitanga and takes a heavy toll on labour and productivity. I have always regarded superphosphate as
guano treated with sulphuric acid, to add sulphur and make the nutrients more plant available. It is not ‘evil’ and has made this country what it is today. Edmonds can do what she likes on her one-hectare smallholding, and listen to as many overseas podcasts as possible. Just don’t preach to us who farm for profit and sustainability. John Dawson Dairy farm owner, Marotiri
Methane taxes will starve people WE MAY be able to stomach methane taxes, if the price of food doubles we will just eat less and be healthier for it, but poor people will starve to death. Taxing their rice, dairy and
meat will devastate them and they have no options to mitigate or avoid these essential foods. While the rich continue to fill their tanks with high carbon fossil fuels, the poor will starve to death, due to methane taxes on their food. Is this what we want? Who will fight for the poor? Dave Stanton Geraldine
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