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An 18-month long project to understand how changes on farm to reduce greenhouse gas emissions may impact a farms profitability and productivity has come to fruition, with the results for the Owl demonstration farm in Cambridge released today by DairyNZ. “Our aim was to model and apply practical measures to see how we can adapt New Zealand’s highly efficient pastoral farm systems to meet New Zealand’s climate change goals,” says DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle. “The outcome of this project is important to helping us understand the impact of making improvements or changes to how a farm operates in order to reduce emissions and nitrogen leaching.” Twelve farms across New Zealand took part in the Partnership Farm Project, modelling 44 different farm systems.  The Owl Farm results are the first of a series that will be launched over the coming weeks. The farmers who took part in this project are now looking closely at the changes that have been recommended to them to decide whether they implement these on their farm. “One clear message from the work is that every farm is different and there isn’t a ‘one-size-fits-all’ package of changes that every farmer can use,” says Dr Mackle. “But they can learn from these case studies to compare against their own farm and see what might be possible.” “The other clear message is to measure, or estimate, biological greenhouse gas emissions – to know your numbers – as that is the first step to knowing how to manage them.” On Owl farm, one of the modelled farm management changes involved reducing feed use and lowering the stocking rate.  This is expected to result in a 21 percent increase in profitability alongside a 14 percent reduction in nitrogen leaching and 13 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Mitigations modelled on […]