New Zealand: Agriculture
Converting farmers like low carbon
24 Feb 2012
Low carbon prices are proving a boon for farmers wanting to convert forest land to farmland.
Why sludge is starting to look sexy
17 Feb 2012
Power generation from wastewater treatment sludge is to reach 3845 gigawatt hours by 2020 due to increasing industrialisation and the overexploitation of natural resources.
Lignite could fight cadmium, says study
10 Feb 2012
Low-grade lignite could be used to deal with dangerous cadmium contamination of New Zealand’s soils, scientists say.
Stand by ... the weather will get worse
10 Feb 2012
El Niño and La Niña weather patterns will become even more dominant in New Zealand with climate change, according to research from the University of Auckland published in Nature Climate Change.
$500m boost if farm emissions cut
27 Jan 2012
Halving agricultural greenhouse gas emissions could give a $500 million-a-year boost to the economy.
Clean streams progress just a trickle
16 Dec 2011
The Dairying and Clean Streams Accord Snapshot of Progress Report for the 2010/11 dairy season, shows a mixed bag of progress towards improving fresh water quality, MAF says.
Cadmium, compaction, carbon ... our soil is under attack
2 Dec 2011
Toxic cadmium levels, soil compaction and carbon loss are looming as major problems which could affect New Zealand’s agricultural economy, a soil scientist is warning.
Fonterra forces farmers to fence
2 Dec 2011
The fencing of water ways is to become a condition of supply for Fonterra dairy farmers as the industry moves to clean up its environmental image.
Smart meters need study, says expert
2 Dec 2011
New Zealand's electricity industry and regulators could usefully collaborate with academic researchers on randomised testing to gain insights into household impacts of smart meters, says a visiting American researcher.
Biological farming gets cash boost
25 Nov 2011
New Zealand Biological Farming Systems Research Centre as been awarded funding by DairyNZ for a scoping study into biological farming systems.
Farmers growing keen on sustainability
18 Nov 2011
Dairy farmers are rapidly buying into the sustainability debate, says the fertiliser industry.
Pig gas turns into nice little earner
11 Nov 2011
Australian pig farmers are to earn carbon credits for cutting methane emissions from their animals.
Greens air milk disposal worries
28 Oct 2011
As the Maui gas leak continues to limit milk processing capabilities, the Green Party is calling on Fonterra to assess which farmers have the ability to dispose of unprocessed milk safely, and to intervene to support farmers who do not.
Scientist: PM didn't tell the whole story
30 Sep 2011
A prominent environmental scientist says the Prime Minister selectively quoted him during a debate in Parliament over water quality.
Reward inhibitor farmers, says study group
30 Sep 2011
Farmers should be given carbon credits to encourage them to use nitrogen inhibitors, a government committee says.
Eggs deserve a break, says committee
30 Sep 2011
The egg industry could be left out of the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Taupo diffuses water time-bomb
23 Sep 2011
New Zealand’s Lake Taupo Water Quality Trading Scheme is being cited by the OECD as an example of how markets can be used to improve the environment.
Farmers could make money from new-deal ETS
16 Sep 2011
Recommended changes to the Emissions Trading Scheme could see farmers meet their obligations through offsetting.
Ag emissions move difficult, says minister
12 Aug 2011
Measuring agricultural greenhouse gas emissions on an intensity basis is attractive but difficult, our international climate change negotiations minister says.
ETS review looks at rewards for farmers
24 Jun 2011
The panel reviewing the Emissions Trading Scheme says that it has considered measures that reward farmers with carbon credits for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
NZ spearheads agri-emissions research
24 Jun 2011
The Government has just revealed details of a $25 million fund for international research on mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from pastoral farming.
Science eyes new way to measure farm gases
17 Jun 2011
A new way of measuring agricultural greenhouse gases being proposed by an international scientist could be the answer to New Zealand farmers’ prayers.
Try incentives for farmers, says broker
17 Jun 2011
A scheme similar to the United Nations Joint Implementation programme should be used to encourage farmers to cut greenhouse gas emissions, says a New Zealand carbon consultant.
Labour might sweeten ETS deal for farmers
27 May 2011
Labour might sweeten the carbon deal for farmers by letting them become the point of obligation under the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Green science centre could be a loser
27 May 2011
The Agricultural Greenhouse Research Centre could lose funding to the private sector under a change of government.
Estimates pinpoint cost of ETS to farmers
27 May 2011
Bringing biological greenhouse gas emissions from farms into the Emissions Trading Scheme will cost dairy farmers about 2.8 cents per litre of milk solids, government estimates show.
ETS reviewers eye Australian farm plan
13 May 2011
The panel reviewing the Emissions Trading Scheme is looking at Australia’s plan to give tradable credits to farmers for storing carbon in soil.
Figures show we're not so bad, say farmers
13 May 2011
Latest statistics show that New Zealand agriculture is not the intensive, greenhouse-gas emitting industry that it is portrayed as, says Federated Farmers.
New centre gets up close to nitrous oxide
8 Apr 2011
New Zealand’s ability to measure emissions of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide just got better.
Study suggests bio-farming does the job
8 Apr 2011
The preliminary results from a project to study the impact of biological farming systems suggest it reduces nitrogen leaching.
Greens question Fonterra over water action
8 Apr 2011
The Green Party is congratulating Fonterra for investing in clean-water technology in its Australian factory - but want to know why it won’t do the same at its Wairarapa factory.
Scientists show biochar slashes animal gas
25 Mar 2011
New Zealand scientists have proved that emissions of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide from animal urine can be cut drastically by adding biochar to the soil.
New centre will test gas samples
25 Mar 2011
The National Centre for Nitrous Oxide Measurement will be opened at Lincoln University next week.
Jilted Fonterra to plead case at ETS review
18 Mar 2011
Access to free credits for trade-exposed businesses and the entry of agriculture into the Emissions Trading Scheme are two of the issues Fonterra will be raising with the ETS review panel.
Fertiliser firm wins battle over inhibitor
11 Mar 2011
A Christchurch company has won a court battle to patent its nitrogen emissions-reducing fertiliser.
NZ farmers happy with omission of agriculture
25 Feb 2011
Federated Farmers will use Australia's decision not to put a price on agricultural emissions to back its argument to keep farmers out of the New Zealand scheme.
Science key to the future, says Gluckman
25 Feb 2011
New Zealand must globalise its science to strengthen its economy and protect its social and environmental development, says the Prime Minister's Chief Science Adviser, Sir Peter Gluckman.
Fewer emissions aid rural sector, says Garnaut
18 Feb 2011
Cutting greenhouse gas emissions could improve the economic prospects of rural Australia, says that country’s government adviser on climate change.
Ag emissions calculator updated
11 Feb 2011
The group giving neutral climate change advice to agriculture has updated its online emissions calculator.
Animal emissions going under microscope
28 Jan 2011
The Southern Hemisphere’s largest research centre measuring methane emissions from animals will be opened in Palmerston North next month.
Some growers qualify for free carbon credits
21 Jan 2011
Horticulturalists have joined the list of those eligible for free carbon credits under the Emissions Trading Scheme.
CANCUN: Give money to research, says FedFarm
17 Dec 2010
The Cancun climate change summit proved that a solution to global carbon emissions is still as elusive as ever, says Federated Farmers.
Top dairy farmers to talk sustainability
26 Nov 2010
Driving greater resource use efficiency on dairy farms and food security will be key themes at a sustainability forum for award-winning dairy farmers in Hamilton at the end of this month.
Farmers must come first, says Dairy group
19 Nov 2010
Farmers must be the point of obligation if agriculture does come into the Emissions Trading Scheme on schedule, the dairy industry group DairyNZ says.
What Nick Smith said to farmers
19 Nov 2010
Comments by Climate Change Issues Minister Nick Smith to Federated Farmers this week on the prospect of delaying agriculture's entry into the Emissions Trading Scheme have caused a minor media flurry.
Farming call vital for forests, says scientist
19 Nov 2010
Keeping agriculture out of the Emissions Trading Scheme beyond 2015 will affect forestry planting levels, warns a forestry expert.
ETS leading to farm subsidies, warns Fed head
19 Nov 2010
Foresters should be growing trees for wood, not carbon storage subsidies, says Federated Farmers.
Dairying gets head around the environment
12 Nov 2010
A significant awareness of environmental issues is emerging in the international dairy industry, Fonterra says.
ETS not the way to go, says FedFarm
12 Nov 2010
Federated Farmers has launched another assault on the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Former MP heads agriculture advisory group
1 Oct 2010
Former National Party MP Katherine Rich is to head the group advising the Government on the rules governing agriculture’s entry to the Emissions Trading Scheme.
'Atrocious' and 'bizarre': experts slam Act Party's climate policy
Wed 3 Sep 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Act Party is promising to challenge New Zealand’s Paris Agreement climate target, while the coalition Government’s other minor partner, NZ First, also says it wants to reevaluate the country’s commitment to the international treaty.
Meridian reports worst earnings in a decade
Wed 3 Sep 2025
Meridian Energy has posted its weakest result in 10 years, with earnings hit by a combination of droughts, low wind and declining gas supply.
Marginal drop in last year's regional emissions
27 Aug 2025
Regional greenhouse gas emissions were down slightly last year, with a fall in gas supply leading to a big drop in Taranaki, but more coal burnt leading to higher emissions in Waikato, according to new figures from Stats NZ
Air NZ declares surprisingly low SAF prices
Wed 3 Sep 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Air New Zealand is able to source sustainable aviation fuel at between 1.5 and 2.5 times the price of conventional fossil fuels used for flying, all sourced from the US.
Certainty crucial to emissions cuts – Watts
20 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says that policy certainty is the Government’s primary lever for unlocking private capital and meeting climate targets, telling a carbon forestry conference that ETS settings are 'locked' through 2030.
Climate-friendly investment still lagging in NZ
Tue 2 Sep 2025
While local financial firms have made recent strides in climate governance and emissions reporting, New Zealand’s institutional investors are still missing in action when it comes to backing clean technologies and climate solutions, according to a new report.
