New Zealand: Agriculture
No-go Nicolson: It's best I stay down on the farm
4 Dec 2009
Federated Farmers president Don Nicolson says he’s doing his bit for climate change by not going to international climate change talks in Copenhagen next week.
Soil sequestration seen as cash boost for farmers
27 Nov 2009
Soil sequestration of carbon will be a significant income source for farmers in the future, says the head of the Berl economic analysis group.
Farmers might move offshore, warns Fonterra
6 Nov 2009
Fonterra is being cut out of free carbon credits under the Government's amended emissions trading scheme - and is warning the move could drive farmers offshore.
Methane scare: NZ urged to watch and wait
6 Nov 2009
New Zealand policy makers are being urged not to react too quickly to American research suggesting methane might play a bigger part in climate change than previously thought.
Farming opportunites huge, says recruiter
23 Oct 2009
Carbon reduction and carbon trading hold huge potential for farmers – if they can get beyond the rhetoric and see the opportunities, says an Australian consulting firm looking for staff in New Zealand.
Switch to trees pays off for carbon-conscious farmer
23 Sep 2009
Politicians might be bogged down in arguments over the emissions trading scheme, but in Marlborough, they’re quietly getting on with cutting emissions and making money.
Let farmers opt in to ETS, says expert
23 Sep 2009
New Zealand farmers should be able to opt-in to the emissions trading scheme to benefit from cuts to their emissions levels, says AbacusBio.
World is listening to us, says Groser
18 Sep 2009
Other countries are coming around to New Zealand’s position on forestry and agriculture in climate-change mitigation, says the Associate Minister for Climate Change, Tim Groser.
New tech means farmers can turn dung into dollars
21 Aug 2009
New technology could see farmers turning effluent into carbon credits
Fruit producers lead way in carbon footprinting
31 Jul 2009
Fruit producers are world leaders in their sector when it comes to carbon footprint measuring, says Pipfruit New Zealand’s chief executive officer Peter Beaven.
Our ag emissions in the spotlight, says minister
24 Jul 2009
Europe and Britain are watching New Zealand’s efforts to mitigate agricultural emissions, says Agriculture Minister David Carter.
Agriculture (at last) on world emissions agenda
17 Jul 2009
Agricultural emissions are finally on the agenda for international climate change negotiators.
Govt sees NZ as leader in ag emissions research
17 Jul 2009
The Government is about to announce a formal proposal to promote New Zealand as a virtual centre for research on international agricultural emissions mitigation.
Need for balance in climate change targets, says Meat & Wool New Zealand
14 Jul 2009
New Zealand’s post-2012 climate change policies, including any 2020 emissions target, must balance environmental and financial implications, says Meat & Wool New Zealand chairman Mike Petersen.
Soil carbon question difficult, says minister
10 Jul 2009
Climate Change Issues Minister Nick Smith says that soil carbon sequestration is a double-edged sword.
We're no climate deniers, says farm leader
10 Jul 2009
Farmers are not climate change deniers, says Federated Farmers’ president and new climate change spokesman Don Nicolson.
Voluntary soil carbon market on the way
7 Jul 2009
New Zealand is on the road to establishing a voluntary soil carbon market.
Kiwifruit wins share of $8m carbon fund
7 Jul 2009
A project designed to quantify the carbon sequestered above and below ground in kiwifruit orchards is one of 35 projects that have been granted a combined total of $8.26 million by the Sustainable Farming Fund.
Avocado growers look for carbon answers
7 Jul 2009
The avocado industry is to use $20,000 awarded by the Sustainable Farming Fund this month to help to prove the carbon sequestration potential of its trees.
Climate change: Where there's a Wills there's a way
5 Jun 2009
The best form of defence against climate changes is attack, Hawke’s Bay sheep and beef farmer Bruce Wills believes.
New centre to study agriculture gas emissions
2 Jun 2009
New Zealand is to get a government-funded specialist agricultural and horticultural greenhouse gas research centre.
MAF's message: Our way of farming must change
2 Jun 2009
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is pushing farmers to adapt to changes caused by climate change.
Organics campaigner sends key message to farmers
2 Jun 2009
Organics will play a key role in dealing with climate change, says Organics Aotearoa New Zealand chief executive officer Dr Jon Tanner.
Budget investment brings hope for sustainability science, says OANZ
29 May 2009
Organics Aotearoa New Zealand is pleased by the Budget announcement of new priorities for the Ministry for the Environment, and hopes that the Primary Growth Partnership will lead to a greater investment in organic innovation.
Organic fruit growing gets carbon clearance
15 May 2009
Organic fruit growing operations are environmentally sustainable and could trade carbon credits in the future, a Massey University researcher has found.
Zespri aims high as carbon-clean producer
1 May 2009
Zespri is out to become the world’s leading environmentally friendly producer of kiwifruit in the wake of a groundbreaking research into the carbon footprint of New Zealand kiwifruit.
You must adapt, minister tells farmers
28 Apr 2009
Agriculture Minister David Carter says that New Zealand farmers should be starting to adapt their farm management to deal with the impacts of climate change – and be looking for possible benefits to exploit.
Kiwi researchers in major cow methane breakthrough
24 Apr 2009
Breakthrough research into the cattle genetics could lead to the breeding of cattle that produces less methane.
Coastal Farmers take environment award
24 Apr 2009
Omamari beef farmers Peter and Pam Kelly have taken out the supreme award in the 2009 Northland Ballance Farm Environment Awards.
Inhibitors no silver bullet, warn farmers
21 Apr 2009
Nitrification inhibitors should not be seen as a one-size-fits-all solution for reducing agricultural emissions, says Federated Farmers in the wake New Zealand’s latest emissions data.
Welsh firm claims answer to methane emissions
7 Apr 2009
A Welsh firm that says it has a cure for ruminant methane emission is seeking opportunities in New Zealand.
Agricultural emissions can be cut 13% today - at a profit, says Sustainability Council
3 Apr 2009
A report completed for MAF dispels the convenient untruth that pastoral farmers have no cost-effective options to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, the Sustainability Council says.
Follow the Danes on animal tax, say farmers
27 Mar 2009
Federated Farmers is using the actions of Danish politicians to keep pressure on the ETS review committee.
Farmers want agriculture, food out of ETS
17 Mar 2009
Federated Farmers wants agriculture and food production removed from the emissions trading scheme.
Rising tides seen as threat to our wetlands
10 Mar 2009
Salt intrusion into coastal wetlands due to rising seas through global warming is a pending problem for New Zealand, according Len Everett, the British Columbia director of Ducks Unlimited.
Canadians woo our farmers with cash-for-carbon deal
20 Feb 2009
A company that has already distributed more than $7 million to Canadian farming families through soil carbon credits now wants to do the same for New Zealand farmers.
New grass could wipe out cattle gas emissions
17 Feb 2009
A new strain of grass could mean that grazing cattle will cease emitting measurable amounts of methane.
Biochar pioneer recruits top Australian scientist
17 Feb 2009
Blenheim-based charcoal technology company Carbonscape has scored a coup by recruiting highly respected climate change campaigner Professor Tim Flannery on to its board of directors.
NZ could take lead on climate-saving biochar, says scientist
13 Feb 2009
New Zealand could be the first country in the world to set up a large-scale biochar plant – considered one of the few technologies that could substantially reduce atmospheric carbon, say British soil science experts.
Kyoto soil carbon rules don't fit NZ, says official
3 Feb 2009
New Zealand would have to be able to use a base year other than 1990 if the country was to start accounting for soil carbon, says a senior government official.
JATROPHA: Everyone should plant it, says grower
30 Jan 2009
All New Zealand farmers should have four to five hectares planted in jatropha as a way of protecting themselves against the impacts of peak oil, says an Auckland landowner.
Dairy farmers place orders for local biogas system
27 Jan 2009
The first commercial orders have been placed for the Landcorp-backed BioGenCool biogas energy system for dairy farms.
It's all win-win for no-till farmers, says scientist
20 Jan 2009
New Zealand farmers could be collecting carbon credits, cutting crop production costs and boosting yield all at the same time, says a New Zealand scientist.
Farming attitude change could slash NZ emissions
16 Jan 2009
New Zealand could cut its greenhouse gas emissions by two million tonnes a year by moving to no-tillage farming.
ETS review could damage farming, says Pedersen
2 Dec 2008
Former farming leader Charlie Pedersen, who championed the need for agriculture to be in the New Zealand emissions trading scheme even though he felt isolated and unsupported, is warning that the farming sector could be damaged by the review of the climate change and the ETS.
British bulldog snarls Kyoto message Downunder
2 Dec 2008
A strong coded message is being sent from No 10 Downing Street to government heads in New Zealand and Australia: do not deviate from your planned commitments to Kyoto.
We're risking our clean reputation, says organics chief
2 Dec 2008
New Zealand risks scoring a “spectacular own-goal” if it backs away from its proactive stance on climate change, a leading agricultural lobbyist says.
Key ETS agriculture decisions out this month
4 Nov 2008
Officials’ recommendations on how the emissions trading scheme should be applied to the agricultural sector – including the controversial point-of-obligation – will be released at the end of this month.
ETS will put us out of business, says horticulture chief
28 Oct 2008
The horticulture sector’s official body says that the ETS legislation was enacted in dangerous haste and will put many of its members out of business.
Labour won't scrap RMA replacement laws: Hipkins
Fri 26 Jun 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins says New Zealand needs to move beyond the "repeal and replace" approach to resource management, confirming the party would amend rather than scrap the Government's RMA reforms, if elected.
Lake Onslow pumped hydro consortium secures funding for consent push
Fri 26 Jun 2026
By Oli Lewis | The consortium behind Lake Onslow pumped hydro has secured funding to finalise its resource consent application, aiming to lodge it under the fast-track process before 2027.
'Terrible result': Emissions barely budged in 2024
5 Jun 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions were virtually unchanged in 2024, falling by 0.03%, despite the economy shrinking by ten times that amount during the same period, according to new data.
Labour pledges unlimited public transport for $20 a week
10 Jun 2026
The Labour Party is promising to cap weekly public transport fares at $20 in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, if elected in November.
Govt opens first ETS forestry permit ballot
22 Jun 2026
Applications have opened for the first ballot under new ETS forestry rules, with up to 7,500 hectares of exotic forestry on marginal land on offer for landowners to register in the Emissions Trading Scheme in the first of two annual rounds, totalling up to 15,000ha a year.
NZ Taxonomy project scoops London Climate Week award
Wed 24 Jun 2026
The New Zealand Taxonomy project has scooped an innovation award at the International Climate Bonds awards in London this week.
