ANIMAL HEALTH
MACHINERY & PRODUCTS
MANAGEMENT
Getting a feel for in-lamb ewes. PAGE 27
SIFD wins punters plaudits.
FEP courses prove popular. PAGE 24-25
PAGE 28
TO ALL FARMERS, FOR ALL FARMERS APRIL 6, 2021: ISSUE 723
www.ruralnews.co.nz
Farms face financial ruin SUDESH KISSUN sudeshk@ruralnews.co.nz
FARMERS ARE warning that some of the proposals in the Climate Change Commission draft advice to the Government will result in financial losses for many. One-third of dairy farms could “go backwards financially with flow-on consequences for GDP”, DairyNZ says in its submission to the commission.
DairyNZ has modelled the draft proposal’s impacts on rural communities. If the recommendations are adopted, milk production could fall 7-13% by 2035. DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle says farmers are concerned the commission’s economic modelling isn’t realistic and the assumptions don’t properly capture the true cost. “The commission significantly underestimates the economic impacts
and DairyNZ has forecast milk production to reduce under these proposals. However, the commission has assumed stock numbers will reduce, along with land use and methane – but milk production will stay the same. “The national cost shouldn’t be an excuse for inaction, but New Zealanders need to go into this with eyes wide open and an understanding of the true costs, to make informed decisions about where we
target our investment.” DairyNZ is also concerned the recommended carbon budget goes beyond the Zero Carbon Act – lifting the reduction of methane from 10% to 13%. “This effectively increases the scale of our challenge,” notes Mackle. “The commission’s pathway for biogenic methane also requires significant changes on farms and rapid technological breakthroughs, that we are not
She’s the boss! POUARUA FARMS is the largest single dairy platform in the Hauraki region and can also lay claim to being one of the best dairy farms in the country – as one of the finalists in this year’s Ahuwhenua trophy for the top Maori dairy farm in NZ. As part of the competition, each of the three finalists have to hold a field day on their respective properties to give others the opportunity to see first-hand just why these farms have made it to the top. Tasked with organising the Pouarua Farms field day was the chief executive, Jenna Smith. She says the feedback from the day was positive with people interested in some of the wider innovations taking place on the farms. For Smith, who started life as a dairy assistant in Otago, it’s been a case of progressing through the ranks of the dairy industry. She’s had a number of roles, including a stint as a sharemilker, which have eventually led to her current role at Pouarua. – See more on the Pouarua Farms field day on pages 22-23
confident will be achieved in such a short timeframe.” Sheep and beef farmers are worried that the proposal for New Zealand to reduce its reliance on forestry offsets don’t go far enough and will lead to “swathes of New Zealand sheep and beef farmland being converted to pine trees”. Beef + Lamb NZ (BLNZ) chief executive Sam McIvor warns that it will have significant negative impacts for sheep and beef farming and for rural communities. BLNZ also opposes the recommendation for the Government to implement measures that would lead to a 13.2% reduction of biogenic methane emissions below 2017 levels by 2030. “This represents a 32% increase in the level of ambition compared to the 2030 biogenic methane target contained in the Zero Carbon Act, which is to reduce methane emissions to 10% below 2017 levels by 2030,” notes McIvor. “The commission has deemed that these reductions are achievable on the basis of further improvements in productivity, based on the gains the sector has achieved in the past,” he adds. “While it is true the sector has achieved a lot, there are limits to what the sector can continue to achieve.” There are some proposals that have the support of farmers, like the split gas approach, the He Waka Eke Noa partnership and investment for better rural digital connectivity. Consultation ended on March 31 and the commission now must deliver its final advice to the Government by end of May.
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