Government is losing the forestry debate with rural New Zealand – Keith Woodford:
The response of Government Ministers to rural concerns about forestry policy is polarising the debate. Describing rural perspectives as ‘fiction’, and upset rural protesters as ‘rednecks’, is counter-productive.
The combination of the Zero Carbon Act and forthcoming Emission Trading Scheme legislation will transform the New Zealand landscape. The Government has done a poor job of educating New Zealanders as to what it will mean. The Government is now on the defensive.
In this article, the focus is on multi-rotation production forestry. The associated story of permanent forests must wait for another article.
The starting point is that New Zealand has a policy goal of zero net carbon emissions by 2050. That means, among other things, that either New Zealand has to find new energy sources to replace fossil fuels, or else it has to offset those emission in other ways. The offsetting has to start right now. . .
Government waterways proposal to move fences could cost millions – farmers – Eric Frykberg:
Farmers who have paid millions of dollars to put fences alongside waterways fear having to pay millions more to move them.
This worry has arisen from the government’s proposed Action Plan for Healthy Waterways, which was released in September.
This plan called for fences to be set back at least five metres from a creek that runs through a farm, to stop nutrients leaking into the water.
Federated Farmers environment spokesman Chris Allen said many creeks had already been fenced off, and those fences might have to be shifted under the proposed new rules.
“If we have put up fences to exclude stock, the last thing we want, now the goalposts have moved, is to do the whole job all over again,” Mr Allen said. . .
Debate rages over report findings about meat, health – Brent Melville:
Whether you prefer burgers or beans, it is clear that international lobbying against red meat continues to gain momentum.
The latest volley comes from a recent joint survey by researchers at Oxford University and University of Minnesota.
Their report, “Multiple health and environmental impacts of food”, went further than just the health benefits or otherwise of different foods, linking ingredients associated with improved adult health to lower environmental impacts. And vice-versa.
The researchers picked 15 foods, measuring their impact if they were added to what an average Western adult would eat on a daily basis. . .
Milk could be carbon-neutral now, says new study – Eloise Gibson:
By boosting how much maize cows eat, modestly reducing stock numbers, shrinking fertiliser use and buying carbon offsets, New Zealand milk could be carbon neutral today, according to a new study modelling changes to a typical Waikato dairy farm.
Researchers at AgResearch have calculated that a typical Waikato dairy farm could go carbon neutral now and still make a profit.
As a bonus, a farm that adopted the changes could also reduce nitrogen leaching by up to 42 percent, improving water quality.
Crucially, the farms profit could also increase, by 15 percent, after factoring in a premium paid by climate-conscious consumers. . .
More farmers feeling bank pressure, Feds survey finds:
In the last six months farmers’ satisfaction with their banks has continued to erode and the number who feel under pressure from banks has risen from 16% to 23%, the latest Federated Farmers Banking Survey shows.
“While most farmers remain ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with their banks, the number giving those ratings have slipped from 71% in May this year to 68% in our November survey,” Feds economics and commerce spokesperson Andrew Hoggard says. That’s the lowest since we began the twice-a-year surveys in August 2015.
“This is disappointing but not at all surprising given what we have been hearing over the past several months of banks getting tougher and changing conditions as they seek to contain or even reduce their exposure to agriculture, and also as they respond – prematurely – to the Reserve Bank’s proposals on bank capital,” Andrew says. . .
Dairy, beef, and lamb exports rise in October:
Exports of dairy products, beef, and lamb, particularly to China, increased in value in October 2019, Stats NZ said today.
However, the rises were partly offset by falls in logs and kiwifruit.
In October 2019, the value of total goods exports rose $206 million (4.3 percent) from October 2018 to reach $5.0 billion.
The rise in exports was led by milk powder, up $194 million (32 percent) from October 2018. The rise was quantity-led, but unit values were also up. . .
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