New Zealand: Agriculture
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.
Farming fund looks for new customers
2 Aug 2016
The 2017 round of the Sustainable Farming Fund is open for applications.
How right price, right credits would suit farmers
29 Jul 2016
A carbon price of $25 and a 50 per cent allocation of free credits would make the Emissions Trading Scheme viable for some farmers, a new report shows.
Irish agriculture faces emissions dilemma
26 Jul 2016
Ireland is facing a classic conflict, pitching economic growth targets against the need for action on climate change.
Solar farms offer bonus for tropical crops
19 Jul 2016
Research in England shows that solar farms reduce local temperature and provide shade, enabling crops in hot and desert climates to flourish.
DROUGHT-DODGER: Let's hear it for the humble bean
18 Jul 2016
Scientists have found that some varieties of beans − a vital food crop grown on every continent except Antarctica − have developed ways of coping with the climate-related droughts that threaten them.
FULL OF BEANS: Pulses should fill the food basket
7 Jul 2016
Three years ago, the United Nations passed a resolution declaring 2016 the International Year of the Pulse.
Do cows get seasick? Here comes the floating dairy farm
6 Jul 2016
Do cows get seasick? It’s not a question farmers often ask, except in the Dutch city of Rotterdam where a team of developers plans to build a floating dairy.
What do you do with 162 million tonnes of manure?
4 Jul 2016
Americans' access to cheap meat comes at a cost: Millions of tonnes of manure and toxic pollutants which threaten some of the nation's most important waterways.
How science can strengthen endangered plants
27 Jun 2016
As the human population swells – and in the face of a changing and unpredictable climate – the demand for natural resources increases. This leads to distressing rates of deforestation to prepare land for agriculture, medicinal and forestry products. Related to this is an alarming reduction in species worldwide.
The race is on to feed a warming world
24 Jun 2016
Scientists warn that plant breeders will need to accelerate development schedules if they are to ensure the ever-growing population can be fed as global temperatures rise
Can robots cut farming’s carbon footprint?
23 Jun 2016
Drones, satellites and weed-killing lasers could slash the energy used to grow crops, say experts.
Farming's climate impacts getting worse
16 Jun 2016
New United Nations figures show pollution from farming is continuing to get worse.
Extreme weather turning some crops toxic
9 Jun 2016
The United Nations has warned that extreme weather conditions are prompting crops to release toxins, and eating these crops is detrimental to human health.
Soil researcher has a wee problem
8 Jun 2016
Scientists are puzzled by unexpected and conflicting results from research into the affect of irrigation on greenhouse gas emissions from soil.
Farm trust chief ends 10 years at helm
1 Jun 2016
New Zealand Farm Environment Trust general manager David Natzke is stepping down after a decade at the helm.
Nanotechnology can help us to grow more food
30 May 2016
With the world’s population expected to exceed nine billion by 2050, scientists are working to develop new ways to meet rising global demand for food, energy and water without increasing the strain on natural resources.
Farming’s dirty needs have a deadly effect
27 May 2016
Farming is a dirty business – so dirty now that, according to new research, air pollution from agriculture in the form of fine particles of lung-choking dust outweighs all other human sources of that kind of pollution.
PORK TALK: UN expert calls for tax on meat production
27 May 2016
Governments should tax meat production in order to stem the global rise in consumption and the environmental damage that goes with it, according to a UN expert.
Cattle drugs could fuel climate change, study suggests
26 May 2016
Dosing farm animals with antibiotics increases greenhouse gas emissions from cow dung, research suggests.
Climate food shocks not good news for us, says report
23 May 2016
Climate change-induced food shocks will have a negative effect on New Zealand’s economy, researchers say.
Farming needs to play a lead role to meet Paris targets
23 May 2016
Researchers say new technical and policy solutions, plus major investment, are needed for agriculture to help to make the emissions reductions required to meet Paris targets.
BLOWIN' IN THE WIND: China's desertification dust is even reaching our shores
19 May 2016
Dust and sand storms in China have intensified and now pose provocative geopolitical challenges. Traces of China’s deserts have been found as far away as New Zealand and the French Alps.
Why we need soil microbes to fight climate change
19 May 2016
Around the globe, 2016 has been a dusty year. And the loss of soil presents a less obvious challenge: it robs us of a key ally in fighting climate change. That ally is soil microbes.
There's no need to fell forests to feed the world
28 Apr 2016
People don’t have to go hungry to conserve the planet’s forests. And farmers don’t have to bulldoze, burn or clear woodlands to make way for agriculture, according to new research.
Feeding cows brassicas might solve the nitrogen problem
20 Apr 2016
Could feeding cows brassicas help to reduce nitrogen loss from the soil?
Agriculture key to UN sustainable goals
19 Apr 2016
Agriculture will play a crucial role in addressing the planet’s future needs – whether on food production, health or the preservation of the environment. But transforming the dominant agricultural model could be the greatest challenge of all.
Farming fund backs 25 sustainable projects
18 Apr 2016
Twenty-five projects have been given a total of $6.9 million in the latest round of grants from the Sustainable Farming Fund.
Wasted food places heavy burden on climate
15 Apr 2016
As obesity levels soar, cutting the vast amount of food we waste could have a major impact on reducing the effects of climate change, as well as alleviating world hunger.
China buys up farmland in central France
14 Apr 2016
A Chinese company has acquired hundreds of hectares of cereal-producing farmland in central France, provoking astonishment and anger in the farming community.
Hotel chain grows own veges to cut food waste
14 Apr 2016
One of the world’s biggest hotel chains has announced it will plant vegetable gardens at many of its hotels as part of a plan to cut food waste by a third.
There's a sea of our soil ending up in the ocean
12 Apr 2016
Soil is a farmer’s most precious resource, but, in New Zealand, we lose it to the ocean about 10 times faster than the rest of the world, with between 200 million and 300 million tonnes sliding into the sea every year.
GM crops can thrive as climate warms
5 Apr 2016
Plants genetically modified to take advantage of hotter temperatures and increased carbon dioxide could cut fertiliser use and raise yields to alleviate global food shortages.
Rising heat brings earlier (and better) vintage
30 Mar 2016
Winegrowers can expect good grape harvests much earlier now, thanks to climate change, but scientists say the effect may not last.
Cuba’s sustainable agriculture at risk in US thaw
29 Mar 2016
President Obama’s trip to Cuba this week accelerated the warming of US-Cuban relations. Many people in both countries believe that normalizing relations will spur investment that can help Cuba to develop its economy and improve life for its citizens. But in agriculture, US investment could cause harm instead.
No worries, says Key, science will save the world
23 Mar 2016
Prime Minister John Key says that science will save the world from climate change.
Are vegetables really the most low-carbon diet?
23 Mar 2016
It is often claimed that a vegetarian diet is better for the environment, because grazing animals such as cattle and sheep produce a lot of methane, a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
Goodies v baddies ... why labelling is holding farming back
22 Mar 2016
It’s hard to keep wild animals out of farms. Birds, mammals and insects all affect crop yields, in positive ways (such as flies pollinating flowers) and negative ones (such as when birds damage fruit).
Give ETS strength, pleads forest industry chief
17 Mar 2016
The Emissions Trading Scheme is a eunuch that needs to have its vasectomy reversed, the head of the forestry industry says.
Climate needs Africa’s farmers to change fast
15 Mar 2016
Climate change could soon begin to make dramatic impacts on Africa’s agriculture. Up to 60 per cent of land now used to grow beans could become unviable by the end of the century – and in some places, farmers will need to change their ways within the next 10 years.
New methane probe points finger at agriculture
11 Mar 2016
New research showing that agriculture, and not fossil fuels, is responsible for rising methane levels is especially important for New Zealand, says the lead researcher.
Pacific climate response in question as NZ finance remains unclear
Fri 19 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With New Zealand's $1.3 billion international climate finance commitment set to end with no clarity on what follows, the Auditor-General says oversight of that funding remains patchy and long-term outcomes are unclear.
NZ hydrogen regulation to catch up with the world
18 Dec 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The government has announced a regulatory reset for New Zealand’s emerging clean tech hydrogen sector.
Transport dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Transport pollution was the biggest contributor to an increase in New Zealand’s consumption-based emissions in 2023, with emissions from household travel up 12%, and consumption-based emissions totalling 58.3 million tonnes – up 1.6% from the previous year.
NZ could become ‘dumping ground’ for dirty vehicles: Commissioner
16 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | Simon Upton, Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, has warned the Government that its changes to the clean car standard could turn the country into a dumping ground for high emitting cars, making future emissions budgets harder to achieve.
Uncertainty eroding confidence in forestry sector
5 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Warnings are mounting that tree planting is set to plunge to “very close to zero”, as new Ministry for Primary Industries data shows ETS registration applications falling sharply as confidence in forestry declines.
Investors must support positive climate-tech
28 Nov 2025
OPINION: We need better leadership than the current ‘climate opportunism’ that is rife in the Beehive, and we need to back a marketplace that will make it happen, writes Rob Campbell.
