Farmers up to the challenge of reaching climate change targets
Agriculture industries must work together to reduce the effects of global warming, climate change experts say. About half New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture, with methane from ruminant animals like sheep and cattle the biggest contributor. But that doesn't mean industries such as forestry and horticulture should be exempt from the fight. Through the Paris Agreement, countries around the world are trying to keep global warming to 2 degrees Celsius above what the temperature was in the pre-industrial years. READ MORE: * Climate change blame game only stalls progress * Climate change report a wake-up call for NZ farming * Agriculture is not the villain when it comes to New Zealand's emissions The challenge for farmers would be to maintain their food production while mitigating their emissions of methane, guests at the New Zealand Agriculture Climate Change Conference heard in Palmerston North this week. New Zealand's farmers are ahead of the game, producing almost twice the milk and meat per kilogram of carbon dioxide than the world average, but almost 50 per cent of the country's emissions are from agriculture and a small population. If greenhouse gas emissions were measured against a country's food production, rather than population, New Zealand would be one of the good guys. But, it's not. And that's why farmers like Anders Crofoot are offsetting their emissions by dedicating parts of their farmland to planting forests. The American businessman moved to New Zealand in 1998, where his family bought Castlepoint Station in Wairarapa. Reducing emissions could be achieved by changing attitudes, such as planting trees on land unfit for livestock. Not only would this offset emissions generated on the farm, but it provided erosion control and income diversification. Dairy processing company Synlait has clients overseas demanding products farmed sustainably. Its spokesman Hamish Reid said they were even willing to pay more for it. In response, the Canterbury company rewarded sustainable farmers with bonuses in their milk payouts. Beef and Lamb New Zealand's environment spokeswoman Victoria Lamb said farming was the backbone of New Zealand, and combating global warming wasn't as simple as shutting farms and replacing them with forests. "There's a lot of people that come to see the fluffy sheep. Everything goes in, everything comes out. Sheep numbers have halved since 1980, but production has increased." The company is holding workshops around the country for farmers who wanted to create a farm environment plan. Part of this would be measuring the farm's greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprint.