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The Government today announced its support for a project that could substantially reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions from cattle. The announcement was made as part of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor’s visit to Nelson’s Cawthron Aquaculture Park. The Cawthron Institute will receive $100,000 from the Government’s Sustainable Food & Fibre Futures fund to turn a native red seaweed (Asparagopsis armata) in to a greenhouse gas-busting cattle feed supplement for domestic and global markets. “If successful, this project could be a game-changer for farmers here and around the world,” Damien O’Connor said. “In previous trials Asparagopsis has proven to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in livestock by up to 80 per cent. Other products typically provide reductions of between 10 and 20 per cent.  “Australian research estimates that if just 10 per cent of global ruminant producers adopted Asparagopsis as an additive to feed their livestock, it would have the same impact for our climate as removing 50 million cars from the world’s roads. “Farmers know better than most about the effects of climate change and many are innovating so that they can drive down on-farm emissions. They need technology like this to help them get there though. “Sustainable agribusiness and transitioning to a low emissions economy is a major focus for the Coalition Government. It’s why we established the $40 million a year SFFF fund last year – to invest in projects that deliver economic, environmental and social benefits for all Kiwis.  “Aquaculture is a growth industry for this country and has the potential to play a more significant role in our economy. It’s currently worth $600 million a year and employs over 3000 people. “The Cawthron project could lay the foundations for a new high-value industry, along with the jobs that go with it. There is […]

The recent NZIER report trivialises the significant role the dairy sector plays in New Zealand’s economy – and fails to look at the specifics of the Government’s freshwater package, according to DairyNZ. DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle said the report, commissioned by Fish & Game, Forest & Bird and Greenpeace, is less an economic report and more a high-level commentary on the dairy sector’s role in the economy – and paints an inaccurate picture. “This is yet another case of environmental lobbyists targeting dairy farmers – who are people trying to do the right thing by the environment and who are actively working to make changes on-farm to protect it,” said Dr Mackle. “By singling out dairy farmers, they are ignoring other contributors to water quality and, therefore, are limiting our ability to actually fix the problems where they exist. “The NZIER report trivialised dairy’s role in the economy – 3 percent of GDP equates to 28 percent of merchandise exports and one-fifth of goods and services exports coming from the dairy sector. “The NZIER report does not analyse the economic benefits of dairy to regional communities – which is a critical aspect of dairy farming’s contribution to NZ Inc. Dairying is the engine of the regions, in terms of income and jobs. For example, it is the top income earner in Waikato, West Coast and Southland. “Yesterday we saw the latest MPI Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries report which showed dairy makes up $18.1b of $46.4b exports to June 2019. Dairy exports were up $1.47b last year – this has flow-on effects to our communities, where we employ 46,000 people on and off-farm. Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) recently completed an advisory report on the Essential Freshwater Package that showed that national limits for nitrogen and phosphorus […]

By Professor Graeme Doole, Principal Economist DairyNZ.   The value of New Zealand dairy exports jumped by $1.47 billion to total $18.1 billion in the year ended June 30 – that’s got to be some good nutrition for the New Zealand economy, and help towards providing Kiwis with more of what they say matters to them.   It doesn’t take an economist to tell you that if we’re to afford more of what is important to our quality of life here in New Zealand, the economy has to grow – and it has to grow sustainably and responsibly to ensure our future generations can continue to benefit and enjoy a high level of wellbeing.    Given our relatively small population base, the way to grow a strong and healthy economy is by increasing exports of high-value products.     As New Zealand’s largest exporter of goods, the dairy sector currently sits at 31 percent of total merchandise exports, having grown in value over the past two decades at a compound annual rate of eight percent per year.   This remarkable growth has been achieved both through increased milk production and by increasing the value of exports through the ongoing product innovation and skilled, targeted marketing by New Zealand’s dairy processing companies.     And it’s also important to note is that this growth is being achieved at the same time the dairy sector is stepping forward to embrace greatly improved environmental practices, both on farm and in processing.      Dairy exports are a major driver of New Zealand’s terms of trade – this is the ratio of the value of our exports to the value of our imports.  An improvement in a nation’s terms of trade increases the purchasing power of its people as they can afford more imports for a […]