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New Zealand: Agriculture

More in New Zealand: Agriculture
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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.

Jen Owens

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.

David Natzke

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.

John Key

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).

Brian Stanley

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.

Dr Hinrich Schaefer

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.

Marjan van den Belt

Dairy dive has message, says eco economist

8 Mar 2016

Collapsing dairy prices are a warning of what can happen when businesses live beyond their ecological means, says an expert in ecological economics.

Highly flammable ... gorse

Scientists study slow-burning trees

29 Feb 2016

Planting less-flammable trees on farms might help to stop the spread of wildfires in New Zealand as the planet warms.

Climate change is killing off India’s giant bees

23 Feb 2016

A warming climate and the loss of natural areas to meet the demands of tourism are driving Indian bee colonies to the brink, imperilling an essential food source.

Organic farmers win better base for milk price

15 Feb 2016

Fonterra is offering organic farmers an independent milk price reflecting consumer demand.

Effluent reduction model could change dairying

15 Feb 2016

A Northland farmer's determination to secure the resource consent compliance that had been eluding him has seen him play a key role in a potentially game-changing effluent reduction model for the dairy industry.

How a phosphorus shortage could leave us short of food

15 Feb 2016

It’s not as well-known as the other issues, but phosphorus depletion is no less significant. We could live without cars or unusual species, but if phosphorus ran out we’d have to live without food.

Govt's ETS stand has dangers, say economists

9 Feb 2016

Excluding agriculture from the Emissions Trading Scheme might be economically inefficient, say Westpac economists.

It's time to rethink what we want from farming

9 Feb 2016

Scientists say nature conservation and protecting the planet from global warming can both be achieved if land is used sustainably, not just for immediate profit.

Disease threatens to kill off bananas ... but there's a way we might save them

9 Feb 2016

Catastrophe is looming for the banana industry. A new strain has emerged of a soil-borne fungus known as “Panama disease” which can wipe out entire plantations – and it is rapidly spreading around the world.

How planning helps these farmers to beat the climate

2 Feb 2016

South Africa’s Western Cape plays an important role in the agricultural economy, but is particularly vulnerable to a changing climate.

UK must balance food farming impacts

18 Jan 2016

The UK could reduce its emissions by converting farmland to absorb more carbon dioxide − but risks increasing climate change effects abroad.

New food status doesn't let NZ off the hook

15 Dec 2015

The pivotal role of agriculture in feeding the world has been recognised in the Paris Agreement on climate change – but that doesn’t mean New Zealand won’t be held accountable for biological emissions.

David Parker

Govt didn't ask officials about agriculture and the ETS review

15 Dec 2015

The Government got no advice from officials on excluding agriculture from the Emissions Trading Scheme – despite officials earlier saying it should be included.

Farmers would do better to understand the land

15 Dec 2015

Suppose your relationship is falling apart and you want to save it. To find the best counsellor, you might search online or ask your friends. It’s no different in agriculture.

Catastrophe looms as arable land is lost

7 Dec 2015

Government officials are calling for major changes in the way New Zealand manages soils, as international scientists warn of catastrophic loss of arable land.

Politics
More Politics >

'Atrocious' and 'bizarre': experts slam Act Party's climate policy

Today 12:15pm

By Liz Kivi | The Act Party is promising to challenge New Zealand’s Paris Agreement climate target, while the coalition Government’s other minor partner, NZ First, also says it wants to reevaluate the country’s commitment to the international treaty.

Energy
More Energy >

Meridian reports worst earnings in a decade

Today 12:15pm

Meridian Energy has posted its weakest result in 10 years, with earnings hit by a combination of droughts, low wind and declining gas supply.

Carbon emissions
More Carbon emissions >

Marginal drop in last year's regional emissions

27 Aug 2025

Regional greenhouse gas emissions were down slightly last year, with a fall in gas supply leading to a big drop in Taranaki, but more coal burnt leading to higher emissions in Waikato, according to new figures from Stats NZ

Transport
More Transport >

Air NZ declares surprisingly low SAF prices

Today 12:15pm

By Pattrick Smellie | Air New Zealand is able to source sustainable aviation fuel at between 1.5 and 2.5 times the price of conventional fossil fuels used for flying, all sourced from the US.

Forestry
More Forestry >
Minister of Climate Change Simon Watts

Certainty crucial to emissions cuts – Watts

20 Aug 2025

By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says that policy certainty is the Government’s primary lever for unlocking private capital and meeting climate targets, telling a carbon forestry conference that ETS settings are 'locked' through 2030.

Business
More Business >

Climate-friendly investment still lagging in NZ

Tue 2 Sep 2025

While local financial firms have made recent strides in climate governance and emissions reporting, New Zealand’s institutional investors are still missing in action when it comes to backing clean technologies and climate solutions, according to a new report.

More in New Zealand: Agriculture
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