Topics tagged with 'Agriculture'

UK sued over plan to import more polluting Australian beef
25 May 2023
Campaigners have challenged the UK government over its assessment of an imminent free trade agreement with Australia, which critics say ignored the full climate impact of meat farming and consumption.

Canterbury receives nearly $2M funding for soil conservation
18 May 2023
Media release | Environment Canterbury’s Soil Conservation and Revegetation Programme (SCAR) receives $1,902,359 in funding, which will support farmers with erosion-prone land across North Canterbury.

Leading US carbon farming programme paid $5.1 million in 2022
18 May 2023
Truterra LLC, the carbon farming and sustainable agriculture unit of cooperative Land O'Lakes Inc, paid U.S. farmers $5.1 million in 2022 for capturing and storing 262,000 metric tons of carbon via sustainable practices.

US, UAE announced climate farming fund has grown to $13 bn
9 May 2023
Funding for a global initiative aimed at creating more environmentally friendly and climate-resilient farming has grown to $13 billion, co-leaders the United States and the United Arab Emirates said Monday.

Dairy farmer uses multi-species, legumes and charcoal to combat climate change
9 May 2023
Summer arrives sooner and the hot, dry winds linger longer than when David Vonhoff was a child helping his parents on the farm.

Agriculture minister attends US/UAE sponsored summit
8 May 2023
Agriculture minister Damien O’Connor is in Washington DC attending the Agricultural Innovation Mission for Climate Summit organised by the US and the United Arab Emirates.

Inside big beef’s climate messaging machine: confuse, defend and downplay
4 May 2023
The US beef industry is creating an army of influencers and citizen activists to help amplify a message that will be key to its future success: that you shouldn’t be too worried about the growing attention around the environmental impacts of its production.

Ireland commits €169 million for climate transition in peat-dependent "midlands"
4 May 2023
Ireland is committing €169 million to help the country’s so-called ‘midlands’ to transition away from the carbon-intensive fossil energy industry.

Soybean crops can take advantage of climate change to increase productivity
2 May 2023
As the climate continues to warm, atmospheric drying — the reduction of the amount of water the air can hold — is becoming a major concern for crop producers around the world.

Climate change endangering Australian wine
1 May 2023
In 2008, the Brown family watched on helplessly as destructive bushfires ripped through the Victoria countryside. For them, it was a wakeup call.

Barn-fed animals will have far lower emissions than NZ produced meat: Rod Carr
26 Apr 2023
Climate Change Commission chair Rod Carr says Europe's barn-fed livestock will increasingly have a far lower carbon footprint than meat produced in New Zealand.

Business leaders outline election priorities to drive climate action
26 Apr 2023
Media release - Sustainable Business Council | The Sustainable Business Council (SBC) and Climate Leaders Coalition (CLC) have laid out their joint climate policy priorities for political parties to consider as they gear up for October’s General Election.

Restaurant menu labels could help fight climate change: new research
18 Apr 2023
If people had more information about the carbon footprint generated by the food they eat, would they make different decisions when ordering in restaurants?

Tiny decrease in gross emissions, net emissions up slightly
14 Apr 2023
New Zealand’s net emissions increased slightly in 2021 - by 3% - while gross emissions were down a tiny 0.7% on the previous year, a slight reduction in gross emissions for the second consecutive year.

NZ farmers would benefit from playing long game
13 Apr 2023
The Conversation - Anita Wreford, John Tobias Saunder, Meike Guenther | The recent report issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) underscores the urgency of emissions reductions.

Agribusiness and govt investment fund gives $1.8m to methane inhibiting start-up
12 Apr 2023
The Centre for Climate Action, the new agribusiness and government joint venture, has made its first investment of almost $1.8 million in a start-up aiming to reduce methane emissions from dairy and beef cattle.

Growing rice and raising animals together creates a synergistic ecosystem
6 Apr 2023
A traditional Southeast Asian rice farming technique of raising fish and other aquatic livestock in paddies has potential to meet global food demands, improve the health of both people and the environment and earn producers an additional $150 billion a year worldwide, a new study finds.

British author and climate activist accuses Silver Fern Farms of greenwashing
31 Mar 2023
British author and climate activist George Monbiot has hit out at what he calls “meatwashing” by New Zealand’s Silver Fern Farms.

Study highlights potential of Africa's 'forgotten' food crops for climate resilience and nutrition
31 Mar 2023
Scientists have identified several forgotten food crops in sub-Saharan Africa that can be incorporated into the cropping system to support climate resilience and nutrition in the region. The study has been published in the journal PNAS.

Meat and dairy giants face $24bn of climate-related losses by 2030
30 Mar 2023
That is according to a new report from investor coalition FAIRR, which convenes members with more than $70trn of assets under management in a drive to improve sustainability-related engagement between investors and companies in the protein sectors.

Best by the rest...
24 Mar 2023
In our weekly round-up of the best climate coverage in local media: the Climate Change Commision wants the Government to explain why it rejected advice; meanwhile, the commission failed to win legal costs from Lawyers for Climate Action NZ; and the Labour-Green coalition is under pressure as Labour dumps climate policies.

Climate resilient vertical farming gets govt funding boost
22 Mar 2023
The government is investing $3.53 million in a vertical farming venture that uses up to 95% less water, is climate resilient, and pesticide-free.

Plan to reduce emissions will have unintended consequences on Australian agriculture, farmers say
20 Mar 2023
A debate is raging over what role carbon offsets and agriculture will play as Australia deals with the complicated task of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Only 3% are aware of meat’s impact on the climate
17 Mar 2023
Despite accounting for the same quantity of emissions as transport globally, only 3 per cent of people in the UK, US, France and Brazil think livestock farming is a leading cause of global warming, according to exclusive polling shared with Spotlight.

A warmer, wetter climate challenges a Chinese eco-farm
17 Mar 2023
In recent years, a new narrative has appeared on Chinese social media: that a warmer and wetter climate in Northwest China will herald a return to the “golden age” of the Tang dynasty (618–907 AD).

Trees can only partly offset agricultural emissions: Environment commissioner
13 Mar 2023
Environment Commissioner Simon Upton has outlined the mammoth task facing the agriculture sector in reducing biological methane emissions to meet targets.

Dutch farmers, climate activists hold protests in The Hague
13 Mar 2023
More than 10,000 Dutch farmers protested in The Hague on Saturday against the government's plans to limit nitrogen emissions.

Chinese rice farming trials cut methane emissions
13 Mar 2023
In a mountain village in south-west China, the local people are playing a guessing game. A new climate-friendly way of growing rice is being trialed here that will reduce methane emissions. So, what’s the difference in yield between it and the conventional method?

Dairy-alternative Kiwi start-up raises $1.5 million in seed funding round
10 Mar 2023
Daisy Lab, a precision fermentation start up, has successfully closed an oversubscribed $1.5 million seed funding round.

Global food systems can cause world to exceed temperature targets: study
7 Mar 2023
A new study by climate scientists sheds light on the significant role food systems will play in future global warming and what can be done about it.

Govt announces $9.5 million in funding for agricultural greenhouse gas research
2 Mar 2023
The government yesterday announced an additional $9.55 million dollars for research into reducing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions.

Emissions up for third consecutive quarter, driven by increased use of coal and gas
1 Mar 2023
New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions increased 0.8% in the June 2022 quarter, up 161 kilotonnes from the previous quarter, despite a 7.5% fall in manufacturing emissions (194 kilotonnes).

Climate-resistant grapes? Spanish winemakers revive ancient varieties
1 Mar 2023
The ads – tucked in the corners of local newspapers and directed at winemakers – began turning up across Catalonia in the 1980s. “If you know where to find any uncommon grape varieties, please get in touch,” they read.

Less roast pork, more lentils needed to reach Denmark's climate targets - govt adviser
1 Mar 2023
Danes should replace two-thirds of their meat intake with vegetables and other plants as part of efforts to reach the country's ambitious climate targets by the end of the decade, the government's independent adviser said on Tuesday.

Farmers for Climate Action rally in Washington
28 Feb 2023
Farmers and farm organisations from across the country will rally in Washington, D.C., March 6-8 to advocate for a 2023 Farm Bill that addresses and supports climate solutions.

National Party leader Christopher Luxon slams govt’s climate change record
27 Feb 2023
National Party leader Christopher Luxon slammed the government’s track record on climate change in a speech over the weekend but failed to propose a single alternative policy.

Japan researchers working to reduce climate impact of cow burps
27 Feb 2023
The project led by Yasuo Kobayashi, a specially appointed professor in the Graduate School of Agriculture at Hokkaido University, aims to reduce cows' methane emissions by 80 percent by 2050.

Taxing farming vital for Denmark's climate target: govt adviser
21 Feb 2023
Denmark should aim to reduce beef and dairy production by levying an emissions tax on farming of 750 Danish crowns (NZ$172) per tonne in order to reach its ambitious climate targets, the government's independent adviser says.

China: What the world’s largest food system means for climate change
21 Feb 2023
In 2019, China’s giant food system produced 1.9bn tonnes of CO2 equivalent – around the same as the total annual emissions of Russia, the world’s fourth largest polluter.

Climate change is redrawing the coffee growing map
20 Feb 2023
Harvesting coffee is a delicate process that occurs just once per year in the plant’s 20 year lifetime, and only after reaching around four years old.

Beef + Lamb New Zealand respond to meat lobby financing academic research claims
16 Feb 2023
Beef + Lamb New Zealand respond to a Carbon News story about its support for a tour of New Zealand by US academic Dr Frank Mitloehner who the New York Times has reported receives millions of dollars in funding from the meat industry in the United States.

Outcry as scientists sanctioned for climate protest
16 Feb 2023
More than 2000 researchers from around the world have signed a letter asking the American Geophysical Union (AGU) to reverse actions it took against two scientists who briefly protested at its annual meeting in Chicago, Illinois, in December.

UK climate activist George Monbiot speaking at NZ EDS conference
14 Feb 2023
The Environmental Defence Society’s upcoming conference will feature the UK’s bestselling climate change author and environmental activist George Monbiot, as well as speakers from across New Zealand’s political spectrum.

EU organics organisation warns of 'greenwashing' of food products
14 Feb 2023
Greenwashing misleads and confuses consumers, misdirects investments and policy and undermines serious regenerative actors, the European umbrella organisation for organics said.

Controversial researcher touring NZ with Beef + Lamb sponsorship
13 Feb 2023
NZ Beef + Lamb are sponsoring a tour of New Zealand universities by a researcher the New York Times has reported receives millions in funding from the meat industry in the United States.

Carbon emissions from fertilisers could be reduced by as much as 80% by 2050
10 Feb 2023
Researchers have calculated the carbon footprint for the full life cycle of fertilisers, which are responsible for approximately 5% of total greenhouse gas emissions—the first time this has been accurately quantified—and found that carbon emissions could be reduced to one-fifth of current levels by 2050.

Can Danone reach its climate goals without scaling back dairy farming?
10 Feb 2023
Last month, the French food company Danone — owner of milk and yogurt brands like Activia and Horizon Organics — pledged to cut absolute methane emissions from its milk supply chains by 30% by 2030, making it the first major food company with a methane-specific emissions target.

China’s rice farming trials cut methane emissions and increase yields
9 Feb 2023
In a mountain village in south-west China, the local people are playing a guessing game. A new climate-friendly way of growing rice is being trialled here that will reduce methane emissions. So, what’s the difference in yield between it and the conventional method?

Costs could rise even more in 2023—and thousands of CEOs blame climate change
8 Feb 2023
Thousands of CEOs say they expect 2023′s high prices to rise even more over the course of the year. Their reason: climate change.

Oat milk in NZ uses 93% less emissions than dairy: study
3 Feb 2023
Media release - A new study released today shows farming oats in New Zealand is much more sustainable than dairy, but dairy is still more profitable.