YOUR INDUSTRY
TONNES OF N 2O (CO 2E)
1060
790
588
2017-18
2018-19
2019-20
Graphic showing tonnes of nitrous oxide emissions from Woodhaven Gardens, 2017–2020
A grower’s story, how the Clarkes are getting to grips with GHG emissions Woodhaven Gardens in the Horowhenua has been figuring out how to reduce their impact on the climate. By Ailsa Robertson : HortNZ sustainability and extension manager The Clarke family has been growing vegetables since the 1970s, growing 24 different crops across approximately 900 hectares. Woodhaven employs around 250 staff and sells 27 million individual vegetable units each year, accounting for about 10% of the national supply. “In order to understand our environmental impact, we’ve had to get to know all of our paddocks individually,” says Jay Clarke. Their journey to understanding their emissions began when they were looking at ways to reduce nutrient leaching to freshwater.
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The ORCHARDIST : DECEMBER 2021
Nitrous oxide is a potent and long-lived greenhouse gas that comes from a range of sources, including farming. In agriculture, it is emitted into the atmosphere when micro-organisms in the soil act on nitrogen introduced either by animal urine or dung, legume plants or nitrogen-based fertilisers. “Figuring that out was actually really helpful for us because it meant we were getting a twopronged approach,” says Jay. “We were already looking at nitrogen for freshwater quality. By tackling that, we’ve also been able to lower our greenhouse gas emissions.”
