New Zealand: Agriculture
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.
Pay farmers to fix environment, say scientists
7 Dec 2016
Up-front payments of $400 a kilogram to cut nitrogen run-off from farms would see dairy farms turned into forests, Government-funded research shows.
CLIMATE CALL: Waterway plantings worth billions
6 Dec 2016
New Zealand will be billions of dollars a year better off if it plants trees along waterways.
World warming almost certain to affect wheat yields
30 Nov 2016
Farmers and consumers have just been issued another warning: global warming will almost certainly reduce wheat yields.
Rural bank warns farmers of green backlash
29 Nov 2016
A rural bank is warning New Zealand farmers that poor environmental performance could create trade barriers against their produce.
EDS tries to stop Mackenzie land conversions
21 Nov 2016
The Environmental Defence Society is going to court to stop land-use conversions in the Mackenzie Country.
Tax meat and dairy to cut emissions, study urges
9 Nov 2016
Climate taxes on meat and milk would lead to huge and vital cuts in carbon emissions as well as saving half a million lives a year via healthier diets.
New carbon farming technology could drive up farm profits
1 Nov 2016
A new technology that measures the precise level of carbon in soil could drive an Australian boom in carbon farming.
Changing rainfall patterns threaten food production
1 Nov 2016
Rainfall patterns will have changed so drastically by the end of this century that agriculture, forestry and fishing will all be seriously affected, warns the UN’s latest State of Food and Agriculture report.
Students make critical nitrogen-pasture link
27 Oct 2016
TIMING COULD BE everything when it comes to getting the best results out of fertilisers in the dairy industry.
Scientist wins honour for dairying work
27 Oct 2016
A scientist who has led pioneering research on nitrate leaching and nitrous oxide emissions from intensive dairying has been made a fellow of New Zealand’s Royal Society.
Secret ingredient lures bees into making more food
20 Oct 2016
A plant virus has developed the trick of attracting bees to the plants it has attacked to make sure they produce plenty of seed.
Monoculture the enemy of our rainforests
17 Oct 2016
SMALL-SCALE monocultural farming threatens rainforests, new research has found.
Seaweed could cut methane emissions from cows
14 Oct 2016
When Canadian farmer Joe Dorgan noticed about 11 years ago that cattle in a paddock by the sea were more productive than his other cows, he didn't just rediscover an Ancient Greek and Icelandic practice.
Agroforestry can help the planet (and profits)
11 Oct 2016
Feeding the world’s growing population in a rapidly warming world will not be possible with modern intensive agriculture that relies on cutting down more forests to plant crops, according to new research.
Trendy foods should come with a recipe for sustainability
6 Oct 2016
The soft creamy flesh of a ripe avocado makes an attractive and healthy addition to many of our shopping baskets.
Farewell to green movement's prince of permaculture
30 Sep 2016
Permaculture pioneer Bill Mollison, who died last weekend, was one of the true heroes of the modern environmental movement.
Food supply fears spark China's global land grab
28 Sep 2016
China is protecting itself against future food supply problems caused by climate change by buying or leasing large tracts of land in Africa and South America, a leading UK climate scientist says.
Farming mega-mergers threaten food security
28 Sep 2016
Proposed new deals would put the majority of seeds, chemicals and GM traits in the hands of three companies, deepening poverty for small-scale farmers.
What we can do about threats to our food security and feed nine billion people
23 Sep 2016
Can we really feed nine billion people? That’s the estimated global population in the year 2050.
Agriculture emissions continue to grow
16 Sep 2016
New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture continue to climb.
Lower crop yields test market forces
15 Sep 2016
Food will cost the consumer more as a result of climate change, but it is not at all clear that farmers will profit accordingly, says a new study.
Now it's milk ... minus the dairy industry
14 Sep 2016
A San-Francisco startup believes it has found a solution for the guilty conscience of consumers who love eating dairy ice-cream, cheese and yoghurt, but oppose factory-style farming and its environmental footprint.
Warmer world not healthy for wheat crops
13 Sep 2016
Global wheat production will fall as temperatures rise, a new study shows.
Our best shot at cooling the planet might be right under our feet
12 Sep 2016
Studies suggest that regenerating the soil by turning our backs on industrial farming holds the key to tackling climate change.
Making wine brings a lot of energy headaches
12 Sep 2016
Wine production consumes large amounts of energy and generates a sizeable quantity of greenhouse gases.
Planting flooded paddies raises rice methane threat
12 Sep 2016
Directly seeding rice into fields rather than transplanting it into flooded paddies would dramatically reduce methane emissions and slow down climate change, according to scientists studying the staple crop.
FLY BUYS: Insects could be the animal food of the future
5 Sep 2016
While science is racing to develop more drought tolerant crop strains through genetic engineering, there may be a simpler alternative ‑- flies.
Planet paying high price for palm oil profits
5 Sep 2016
Palm oil makes a big contribution to modern life as one of the most widely used substances in food, cooking, cosmetics, medicines and a range of chemicals. But the industry that produces it is seriously harming the planet.
Countdown to push free-range eggs
18 Aug 2016
The Countdown supermarket chain says it will make supply agreements with individual producers of free-range and barn eggs, giving suppliers greater economic security.
Simple pollination steps help cotton farmers
16 Aug 2016
Cotton is the world’s most widely grown and economically important non-food crop. In the United States alone, farmers grow cotton on 12 million to 14.5 million acres, and produce a yearly harvest worth nearly $25 billion.
Why farmers should give up the plough
15 Aug 2016
Farmers need to give up the plough to protect UK food security in the face of climate change, warn government advisers.
Dairy groups blast methane reductions
11 Aug 2016
California’s attempt to curb emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, is facing vocal opposition from a dairy industry that fears government meddling in the flatulence of its cows.
Fonterra turns dairy waste into fertiliser
9 Aug 2016
New wastewater treatment technology at Fonterra’s Edendale site is turning dairy waste into fertiliser that is helping local pastures to flourish.
Landcorp to can palm kernel animal feed
8 Aug 2016
Palm kernel won’t be fed to animals on Landcorp-owned farms after this financial year.
Trees clear winner as carbon farmer cashes in
5 Aug 2016
Carbon credits have netted a dairy farmer more than he could have ever made from running livestock on his Taranaki hill country.
BEE WARNED: Agriculture stands to lose millions
3 Aug 2016
New Zealand agriculture stands to lose $295-728 million annually if the local honeybee population continues to decline, according to a new study into the economic consequences of a decline in pollination rates.
Gene tech reforms face political split
Thu 23 Oct 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams |The Government’s Gene Technology Bill continues to divide Parliament, after the Health Select Committee released its long-awaited report last week outlining key recommendations and lingering concerns.
Bill to ban new coal mines fails at first reading
Today 11:00am
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A bid to outlaw new coal mines was defeated at its first hurdle in Parliament this week, after a heated debate pitting climate imperatives against energy security and affordability.
Emissions down slightly - Stats NZ
Today 11:00am
By Liz Kivi | Greenhouse gas emissions fell 1.5% in the June 2025 quarter, although the decline seems to reflect the economy continuing to contract rather than Aoteoroa inching towards decarbonisation goals.
NZ’s government wants tourism to drive economic growth – but how will it deal with aviation emissions?
Wed 22 Oct 2025
By Robert McLachlan, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University | Following a brief dip during the COVID pandemic, aviation is back in a growth phase.
Emails show forestry lobby fought Gisborne crackdown as slash clean-up drags on
26 Sep 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Sustainable land use advocates are accusing Eastland Wood Council of stonewalling efforts to tighten forestry rules, after correspondence between the group and the local council was released under the Official Information Act.
Govt to ease climate reporting thresholds, water down liability
Wed 22 Oct 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The rollback of climate change reporting requirements has produced a wave of relief in corporate New Zealand as managed investment funds and listed companies with annual revenue under $1 billion are exempted.
