New Zealand: Agriculture
Climate change, migration and a deadly disease
11 Sep 2020
For thousands of years, an unknown virus lingered quietly among the wild ruminants of South Africa.
Smithfield going for carbon-negative
7 Sep 2020
The world's biggest pork producer is promising to be carbon-negative on its own emissions by 2030.
Farmers should be rewarded for all carbon, including soil, says Shaw
3 Sep 2020
If climate minister James Shaw has his way, putting a carbon charge on agriculture should be as straight-forward as farmers doing a quick calculation to show whether they’re in the black or the red on greenhouse gas emissions.
Farm emissions-measuring system has potential, says Toitû
28 Aug 2020
Environmental certification company Toitû Envirocare says its new farm-carbon certification programmes will help farmers get a slice of a huge international market for sustainable products.
DISHING THE DIRT: Why biochar isn't the answer
18 Aug 2020
Australia’s move to store carbon in soil is a problem for tackling climate change, agricultural scientists say.
Gene manipulation using algae could grow more crops with less water
12 Aug 2020
Tobacco plants have been modified with a protein found in algae to improve their photosynthesis and increase growth, while using less water, in a new advance that could point the way to higher-yielding crops in a drought-afflicted future.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Let's back buffalo
10 Aug 2020
Waikato farmers could be replacing dairy cows with buffalo if the region goes ahead with a plan to drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions.
NZ and Ireland talk trade over ag emissions
7 Aug 2020
New Zealand is working with Ireland on trade solutions to the problem of carbon leakage in the agricultural sector.
Government backs regenerative farming
8 Jul 2020
The Government has unveiled a plan for the primary sector that includes a substantial switch to regenerative agriculture.
Livestock under pressure for nitrogen pollution
7 Jul 2020
The livestock sector is being singled out in new research for hugely increasing global nitrogen pollution.
Let's feed the people first, say ag leaders
2 Jul 2020
Agricultural industry leaders say they need to feed New Zealanders before the rest of the world.
NZ must rein in Fonterra, says US watchdog
16 Jun 2020
Fonterra is among 13 global dairy companies criticised for continuing to increase greenhouse gas emissions despite their climate damage.
Saucy sugar joins drive to find us better food
19 May 2020
Australia’s sugar industry is joining forces with health experts to call for a complete change to the world’s food systems.
New genetics regime will cut dairy herd emissions
12 May 2020
A new national regime for recording dairy genetics will help to cut greenhouse gas emissions from the nation’s herd, officials say.
Our hill-country is easy going for nitrous oxide
16 Apr 2020
New Zealand’s hill-country farms are releasing much less nitrous oxide than previously thought.
Scientists back soil sequestration
18 Mar 2020
Soil sequestration could remove billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide a year from the atmosphere, scientists say.
Experts to probe farm emissions tool
12 Mar 2020
A panel has been appointed to review the functioning of Overseer, the farm environmental modelling tool that could help farmers to measure their greenhouse gas emissions.
Maori land owners back biological farming
6 Mar 2020
The owners of a million hectares of Maori land are turning their backs on “conventional” agriculture and adopting regenerative practices.
Startup predicts soil-carbon credits for farmers
5 Mar 2020
A company connecting investors directly with farmers taking action on climate change says it expects they will, eventually, get credits for the carbon stored in their paddocks.
Government eyes new rules for inhibitors
14 Feb 2020
The Government is considering introducing new rules to govern the use of inhibitors in agriculture to avoid a repeat of the 2013 DCD trade disaster.
Urban farming focus of $100,000 research award
5 Feb 2020
An urban farming initiative is at the centre of the first $100,000 Pivot Award, a premier research award aimed at enabling innovation in Taranaki's agriculture sector.
EU urged to adopt meat tax to tackle climate emergency
5 Feb 2020
A sustainability charge on meat to cover its environmental damage could raise billions to help farmers and consumers produce and eat better food, according to a report.
Farms must go back to the future, says minister
30 Jan 2020
Farmers will have to move away from intensive, specialised farming as climate change bites, the agriculture minister says.
Minister questions forest conversion claims
12 Nov 2019
The Government denies large areas of productive farmland are being converted to forestry as the country tries to offset its greenhouse gas emissions.
Farmers and foresters are taking to the streets
14 Oct 2019
Tensions between farmers and foresters over land acquisitions are about to be played out on the streets of Wellington.
NZ bankrolls Scottish search for clean green sheep
4 Oct 2019
New Zealand is putting money and science behind Scottish research into farming climate-friendly sheep.
ROBO-CROP: Five roles robots will play in future of farming
2 Oct 2019
With the complex data collecting devices of today’s world, agriculture is in the midst of a high-tech revolution- particularly in the area of precision farming.
Why environment has place in red-meat debate
1 Oct 2019
Recommendations that people should keep eating red meat fail to take environmental damage into account – posing a long-term threat to human health, says one of New Zealand’s leading medical researchers.
Farmers fret over green demands, says bank
26 Sep 2019
Fonterra’s economic woes are not the only thing worrying farmers – they’re also becoming increasingly anxious about the Government’s plans to make them clean up their environmental performance and cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Food supplies under threat as phosphate supply runs short
9 Sep 2019
The world faces an “imminent crisis” in the supply of phosphate, a critical fertiliser that underpins the world’s food supply, scientists have warned.
FARMING FUTURE: When a fence is not a fence
5 Sep 2019
Virtual fencing is a new technology that could help cattle farmers to deal with the changing climate by allowing a system of land sharing that delivers sustainability and productivity.
HEMP HURRAH: Bigger than oil, says backer
23 Aug 2019
The low-carbon future is hemp, says a company dedicated to making the once-banned product the backbone of the New Zealand economy.
Pioneer pushes farming for soil-carbon credits
21 Aug 2019
Farming for soil-carbon credits offers landowners in New Zealand and other OECD agricultural countries a vast potential to make money, says a global carbon markets pioneer.
SOIL STUDY: What's going on beneath our feet?
20 Aug 2019
Scientists have completed one of the first studies of the impact of drought and warmer temperatures on living organisms below the ground.
Changing climate now farmers' biggest worry
12 Aug 2019
Climate change is now the single greatest issue on farmers’ minds, according to the latest Farm Confidence Survey.
Food growers fear loss of land to dairying
26 Jul 2019
The Government’s drive to cut greenhouse gas emissions could see horticultural land taken over by a dairy industry being squeezed by expanding forestry, MPs have been told.
Farmers back 2030 methane cuts - but not 2050
25 Jul 2019
Dairy farmers are backing the Government’s plan to cut methane emissions by 10 per cent by 2030, telling MPs it is achievable.
Pigs in the shade: This radical farming system banks on trees
16 Jul 2019
A farm in Portugal is showing how the ancient art of silvopasture – combining livestock with productive trees – might offer some real answers to the climate crisis.
Think bioenergy for woodlots, farmers told
15 Jul 2019
Farmers facing falling log exports and prices for timber from woodlots are being urged to consider a new market – bioenergy.
Farmers table offer for cutting methane
4 Jul 2019
Farmers say they are prepared to cut methane emissions by 10 per cent by 2050 – well short of the target the Government intends imposing.
Nervous farmers eye methane cut obligations
1 Jul 2019
The prospect of having to cut methane emissions by 10 per cent over the next decade is depressing otherwise optimistic farmers.
Nats vow to fight farm emissions moves
17 Jun 2019
The National Party says it will continue to oppose bringing agricultural emissions into the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Farmers not alone in methane mix, say Nats
10 Jun 2019
The farming sector isn’t the only industry that should be targeted for methane reductions, the National Party says.
IT'S OFFICIAL:We should cut down on meat meals
5 Jun 2019
It’s World Environment Day – and officials are telling New Zealanders to mark it by eating less meat.
Why many farmers aren't cutting emissions
4 Jun 2019
Almost half New Zealand’s farmers don’t think they should have to cut greenhouse gas emissions from their operations – yet most are willing to do it if they can be convinced it won’t cost them money, new research shows.
Disbeliever Brash turns financial backer
6 May 2019
Former National Party leader and one-time Reserve Bank Governor Dr Don Brash might have had doubts in the past about whether humans are changing the climate, but now he’s throwing his money and weight behind technology that could help to solve New Zealand’s methane headache.
Carbon farming could be the way, says Rabobank
3 May 2019
Agricultural finance specialist Rabobank is telling farming customers to think about carbon farming, saying it could be more profitable than farming animals.
Farm emissions can be slashed, says scientist
1 May 2019
A New Zealand scientist says his technology could slash New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions, earning carbon credits for farmers and boosting farm production.
Farmers fight build-up of salt in soils
16 Apr 2019
Irrigation, drought, sea-level rise and more are causing salt to build up in soils around the world.
Don't rule out GE as a solution, say farmers
8 Apr 2019
Genetic modification should not be ruled out by the Government as a solution for climate change and other environmental issues, Federated Farmers says.
Call for wider investigation into private back-channel emails in PM’s office
Tue 9 Jun 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Green Party is calling for a full investigation into the use of private email in the Prime Minister's Office, as the scandal following a missing Fonterra and Z Energy climate policy briefing document drags on.
LNG imports might not be needed for 'dry year' security: redacted report
Thu 11 Jun 2026
By Oli Lewis | The need for imported liquefied natural gas to provide security of supply in a dry year is low, according to newly released modelling, with some scenarios featuring higher levels of renewable generation requiring no gas imports at all.
'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
Wed 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.
Nature-based solutions – such as forestry – crucial for carbon removal
5 Jun 2026
COMMENT: Transitioning from erodible pasture to well-managed forest can yield substantial environmental benefits, writes James Treadwell.
Lack of finance stalling sustainable innovation – report
Fri 12 Jun 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A lack of access to suitable finance is threatening growth in New Zealand's sustainable innovation sector, despite strong confidence and ambitious expansion plans among purpose-driven businesses, according to a new report.
