New Zealand: Agriculture
Feeding grain to farm animals to hit $1tn a year
9 Oct 2017
The global practice of feeding human foods, such as grain and soya, to farm animals will cost us $1.32 trillion a year by 2050, according to environmental campaigners.
Factory farming is a threat to all life on the planet
5 Oct 2017
The world desperately needs joined-up action on industrial farming if it is to avoid catastrophic impacts on life on earth, according to the head of one of the world’s most highly regarded animal campaign groups.
Why eating grass-fed beef isn’t going to help fight climate
5 Oct 2017
Beef gets a bad press, environmentally speaking. We’re bombarded with reports of its high carbon footprint accompanied by images of belching cows and devastated rainforests.
NZ safe from global animal emissions discovery
2 Oct 2017
New research showing the impact of methane from agriculture has been under-estimated doesn’t affect New Zealand greenhouse gas measurements.
Livestock emit more methane than we thought
2 Oct 2017
Global emissions of methane from livestock are larger than previously thought, scientists have said.
SHEAR CRUELTY: Forget fur, is it time to stop wearing wool?
26 Sep 2017
Animal rights charity Peta is best known for its naked anti-fur stunts, but these days it is more worried about wool.
Climate change threatens Te Puke kiwifruit
15 Sep 2017
The most commonly grown variety of kiwifruit around Te Puke will not be commercially viable in the area by the end of the century, say scientists.
Nats vow to 'turbo-charge' farming grants
12 Sep 2017
National is promising to almost triple the money it allocates to the Sustainable Farming Fund if it is returned to power.
Swiss pay heavy price for intensive farming
8 Sep 2017
Intensive agriculture has gradually dried out Switzerland's ponds, and soils are no longer able to handle violent rains, creating increased flooding and mud slides.
NZ backs global climate research project
30 Aug 2017
New Zealand is supporting a new $400,000 scholarship programme to build global expertise on climate change and food security.
Poultry plant earns applause for water use
30 Aug 2017
Australasia’s biggest poultry company has been recognised for the sustainable way it manages water use at a New Zealand plant.
Researchers to probe rich options for Maori land
23 Aug 2017
Rising carbon prices mean carbon farming, backed by manuka honey production, is becoming a viable use of Maori land, says the head of a Ruatoria charitable company.
Climate threatens three of four vital grain crops
22 Aug 2017
Three of the four major grains on which the growing world population depends are vulnerable to global warming, says a new meta-analysis based on more than 70 studies.
Every degree of warming counts for crop harvests
17 Aug 2017
The world can expect 3 per cent to 7 per cent less yield for each degree rise in temperature.
Sustainable Farming Fund grants open
9 Aug 2017
Applications for the latest round of Sustainable Farming Fund grants are open.
Livestock mega farms booming in Britain
18 Jul 2017
Nearly every county in England has at least one industrial-scale livestock farm, with close to 800 US-style mega farms operating across the UK, new research reveals.
Organic farming might not cut climate risk
27 Jun 2017
Organic farming does not always benefit the environment in the ways people expect, and might not avert climate change effects, scientists say.
Federated Famers warns of consequences
26 Jun 2017
Federated Farmers is warning politicians of “consequences” if agricultural emissions are brought into the Emissions Trading Scheme before other countries put a carbon price on farming.
CARBON CATCH-22: The pollution in our soil
23 Jun 2017
Bad behaviour doesn’t usually have good consequences but our fossil fuel and fertiliser habits may have had some “good” environmental side-effects.
COUNTRY CALL: Farmers want ETS and water price
21 Jun 2017
Parts of the agricultural sector are calling for farming to be included in the Emissions Trading Scheme and for a price on water.
We must do something, dairy industry agrees
15 Jun 2017
The dairy industry is acknowledging it needs to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Booming dairy industry drives up emissions
6 Jun 2017
Methane emissions from New Zealand’s national dairy herd have climbed nearly 130 per cent since 1990 as a result of the expansion and intensification of the dairy industry.
Food industry is cooking the planet
29 May 2017
One of the biggest contributors to climate change is the agricultural food industry, but the political will to tackle the issue is lacking.
Targeted forests could slash farm emissions
9 May 2017
Planting forests to clean up waterways could cut New Zealand’s net greenhouse gas emissions from land use by 80 per cent.
Water shortage could hurt European farmers
3 May 2017
Water scarcity half a world away caused by climate change could push up prices for meat and diary products in Europe.
Dutch building Europe’s first vertical farm
26 Apr 2017
A farm in the Netherlands will serve one of Europe’s biggest supermarket chains with lettuce grown using LED horticultural lighting.
Weird weather is being felt down on the farm
21 Apr 2017
Changes to New Zealand’s weather caused by global warming are starting to affect the country’s agricultural earnings.
We must make our soils great again
19 Apr 2017
Restoring soil fertility is one of humanity’s best options for making progress on three daunting challenges: Feeding everyone, weathering climate change and conserving biodiversity.
America’s farmers face uncertain future
7 Apr 2017
Spare a thought for the farmers of America: climate change is going to make their lives more difficult.
Healthy soil is the real key to feeding the world
6 Apr 2017
One of the biggest modern myths about agriculture is that organic farming is inherently sustainable. It can be, but it isn’t necessarily.
March of Myrtle rust could mean trouble for trees
5 Apr 2017
Myrtle rust – a fungus disease that could kill native and commercial trees – is in New Zealand.
Farms can grow production … and cut emissions
3 Apr 2017
Substantial reductions in the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions at a South Canterbury farm show environmental gains can be made hand in hand with a farm’s growth, government scientists say.
COW QUESTION: California gets to grips with farm emissions
27 Mar 2017
California has adopted strict rules for the control of methane, including how to reduce emissions from the state's 1.4 million dairy cows.
Europe poised for total ban on bee-harming pesticides
24 Mar 2017
The world’s most widely used insecticides would be banned from all fields across Europe under draft regulations from the European commission.
FAMILY FEUD: Princess Anne backs GM crops and livestock
23 Mar 2017
Princess Anne has strongly backed genetically modified crops, saying she would grow them on her own land and that GM livestock would be a “bonus”.
Phosphorous is vital ... and we're running out
17 Mar 2017
All life needs phosphorus and agricultural yields are improved when phosphorus is added to growing plants and the diet of livestock. But there is a problem.
Organic farming matters - just not in the way you think
13 Mar 2017
Organically produced food looks good and tastes good ... but can it feed the world?
Heat shows need to adapt livestock management
2 Mar 2017
During the recent heatwave in New South Wales, which saw record-breaking temperatures for two days in a row, 40 dairy cows died in Shoalhaven, a city just south of Sydney.
Creative technology can turn a profit on food waste
1 Mar 2017
Creative businesses aim to get food that would otherwise be wasted into the hands of those who can use it.
Farmers want action on land use and tree planting
23 Feb 2017
Farmers want research into alternative land uses to help them to cope with climate change, and greater incentives to plant carbon-storing trees on their farms.
Solar energy powers sustainable solutions
23 Feb 2017
Every mouthful of food eaten by virtually every creature on Earth depends ultimately on the sun.
Government eyes land-use changes to cut emissions
22 Feb 2017
The Government is looking at changing some current land uses – including forestry and farming – to cut New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions.
RAISING THE STEAKS: Startup crowdfunds sustainable beef
22 Feb 2017
Seattle start-up Cow Crowd works directly with ranchers across the US, cutting out the middleman and giving farmers an alternative to selling calves to factory farms.
ROBO BEES: Mini-drones could help out with pollination duties
13 Feb 2017
Mini-drones sporting horsehair coated in a sticky gel could one day take the pressure off beleaguered bee populations by transporting pollen from plant to plant.
How mini-farms can achieve maxi-production
10 Feb 2017
Tiny, biointensive operations show smallholder farmers from around the world how they can grow far more food than conventional approaches.
Seawater puts a dent in delta rice production
8 Feb 2017
Urgent action is being called for to prevent salt intrusion causing severe damage to rice production and loss of drinking water in Bangladesh and Vietnam.
US faces ‘abrupt and substantial’ crop losses
26 Jan 2017
Harvests in the United States are liable to shrink by between a fifth and a half of their present size because of rising temperatures, an international scientific team has found.
Farming faces pressure from global methane rise
16 Dec 2016
A rapid increase in global methane emissions could put New Zealand under renewed international pressure to cut greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture.
Healthy soils could start at the dairy shed
8 Dec 2016
Bio-waste from places like dairy sheds can be used to transform degraded soils into top-producing land, research is showing.
Nitrogen pollution forgotten element of climate change
8 Dec 2016
While carbon pollution gets all the headlines for its role in climate change, nitrogen pollution is arguably a more challenging problem.
Legal experts sue Climate minister over ‘glaring holes’ in climate plan
Wed 11 Jun 2025
By Liz Kivi | Legal experts are taking the government to court over its Emissions Reduction Plan, alleging it fails to fulfil basic requirements of the law – with one of the arguments focussing on an over-reliance on tree-planting.
Electric firebricks: decarbonising high-temperature industrial heat
Fri 13 Jun 2025
By Ian Mason | A new technology could offer a more cost-effective solution than hydrogen to decarbonise one ‘hard-to-abate’ sector of New Zealand’s economy, as well as having ample potential for demand response as the electricity grid becomes more renewable.
Tech alone won’t save us, warns climate expert
4 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Technology alone won't be enough to reach net zero emissions, environmental psychologist Lorraine Whitmarsh told the Carbon and Energy Professionals conference in Auckland last week.
“It’s not the car – it’s how we move” – EECA
3 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams| New Zealand’s transport emissions conversation has focused heavily on electric vehicles – but Richard Briggs, group manager, delivery and partnerships at the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, says we’re asking the wrong question.
Forestry consents and relaxed rules in erosion zones sow seeds of future disaster
Fri 13 Jun 2025
OPINION: The government’s move to restrict exotic forestry on our best food-growing soils will push even more forestry investment onto high erosion risk land on the East Coast, with the worst land becoming the only land left for the most intensive and destructive land use, writes Manu Caddie
Kiwi cleantech companies on the world stage
27 May 2025
Six New Zealand 'cleantech' companies were in Singapore earlier this month, along with a venture capital firm and the MacDiarmid Institute, to meet investors and multinational partners.
