In a statement released yesterday, New Zealand’s largest farming company Landcorp said it would significantly reduce dairy’s footprint from the original plans and instead include alternative uses for the 14,500 hectares of former forestry land it leases from Wairakei Pastoral Limited.
The new land-use model would see the eventual number of dairy farms and cows on the Wairakei Estate significantly reduced from the 39 originally planned when the estate was fully developed. Under the new plan, the land leased from Wairakei Estate would be used for dairy (irrigated and dryland), dairy support, sheep milking and other potential uses being investigated.
Landcorp chief executive Steven Carden noted the decision was based on a new desire to focus on the expectations of its customers. “Landcorp’s strategy is to connect the food we produce on our farms with high value consumers around the world under our new Pāmu brand. To do that, we need to exceed their expectations about how that food is produced, whether it is the standard of care for the animals, the people who work on the farm, or the environmental impact of producing that food.”
While Landcorp made reference to the positive impact on financial performance, lowering the capital investment initiated planned by $25 million – $35m, most of the reaction has focused on the favourable environmental outcomes.
Green Party water spokesperson Catherine Delahunty said “by scaling back its plans to put more cows on Waikato land, Landcorp has given our precious waterways a better chance of survival”.
Greenpeace also offered support to the news. “If you like swimming in clean rivers, and want New Zealand to have an international reputation as a clean, green country, this is great news”.
Federated Farmers President, William Rolleston said “Improving water management and water quality are key priorities for farmers and all other water users. Landcorp has taken the initiative here and should be applauded for their efforts and aspirations.”
While also welcoming the decision, the Labour Party believed Landcorp’s strategy was more driven by the poor short and medium term outlook for the dairy price.
Labour’s Primary Industries spokesperson Damien O’Connor said “The decision not to convert 14500ha of former forestry land north of Taupo is a no brainer. With the global milk glut, New Zealand doesn’t need a significant increase in the supply of dairy”.
Meanwhile the ‘value-add’ strategy behind Landcorp’s revision has not been evaluated in light of the announcement, or it providing evidence that Landcorp is actively exploring alternative options to maximise returns.
Speaking at Parliament last month, chief executive Steven Carden said “we don’t want to be the commodity supplier who says goodbye to the product at the farmgate, and where we do particularly want to invest is in developing new products and new farm systems like sheepmilk and possibly deer milk, where we can share in the story we are telling about high quality New Zealand product to the end consumer”.
