Friday, March 29, 2024

CCC report supported – but challenges remain

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Two high-profile environmental farmers have largely backed the Climate Change Commission’s draft report, calling its findings challenging but sensible.
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Tokoroa dairy farmer and DairyNZ climate change ambassador George Moss says upskilling the country’s lesser efficient farmers to a point where they are matching the performance of top farmers would be critical if farmers are to reach the report’s carbon reduction targets.

Within all farming there was a bell-shaped curve around the performance of profitability and environmental sustainability.

“That’s the opportunity within the industry. The timelines indicate that there is no resting on our laurels and we need to expedite uptake of current knowledge and get it across to as many farmers as possible, if not all farmers,” Moss said.

“The key part – and this is where it’s going to be expensive and challenging – is how do we get every farmer on that journey?”

He says if this was achieved, then the industry will hit its targets.

Moss recently spoke at the release of a DairyNZ commissioned report, which showed New Zealand dairy farmers had the world’s lowest carbon footprint. When put into that context, Moss says it was like the America’s Cup race.

“It’s good to know we’re in front, it’s good to know we have a very fast boat, but we also know that the competitors are going to be there,” he said.

He says the challenge now was to reduce that footprint on a per kilogram of milksolids basis.

There was always the risk that other countries would catch up to NZ.

“The winning goes to those who keep innovating and keep looking for opportunities,” he said.

Bill Garland says the report made a lot of sense.

Bill and wife Sue have 420 hectares, running sheep and beef at Roto-O-Rangi, near Cambridge. Over the years they have spent a considerable time fencing off 40ha of forestry, as well as waterways and wetlands.

He was pleased with its stance on not supporting carbon farming by planting farmland in pine trees and the issues around offsetting.

Farmers should also be able to calculate the total amount of carbon they have accrued from small areas of bush or wetlands on their land in the future, presumably as an offset for their farm, which also pleased him.

“The best bit of what the commission’s plan said is that we all have to take responsibility for our own carbon footprint. You’ll never solve the world’s environmental issues unless people take responsibility for the impact they’re having,” Garland said.

That will require a change of mindset from everyone.

He says the scenario in the report outlining a 15% reduction in stock numbers in nine years was scary and equated to a 6.3 million stock unit reduction in sheep and beef.

“While we have been through a 30% drop in sheep and beef numbers since the mid-1990s and at the same time, maintained production by better breeding and feeding, there are diminishing returns on that pathway,” he says.

Garland the effect that a fall in stock numbers will have on rural communities. In the past, stock reductions had minimal impact because sheep and cattle were replaced by dairy.

It could also remove some of the flexibility drystock farmers have around their farm policy. 

For example, farmers may no longer have the option of lifting stock numbers to pay for the costs to improve and maintain retired land, including fencing and planting that area in trees or natives.

Any carbon reduction plan will have to be tailored to an individual farm’s budget and circumstances, which will mean a good farm environmental plan would be critical to meeting any future targets, he said.

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