DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb NZ wrap up M. bovis compensation support after $161M in claims
Compensation assistance for farmers impacted by Mycoplama bovis is being wound up.
DairyNZ chief executive Tim Mackle supports the new Interim Climate Change Committee, however he is concerned that it has no member with actual farm knowledge.
“This understanding and experience is vital in order to understand how different mitigations impact on the farm system,” Mackle says.
The six-member committee will he headed by Dr David Prentice, most recently chief executive of the infrastructure firm Opus International Consultants.
The deputy chair is Lisa Tumahai, who is experienced in governance and is a director of Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu.
Other committee members are Dr Harry Clark, a New Zealand expert on agricultural greenhouse gas research; Dr Keith Turner, former chief executive of Meridian and a professional director; Dr Jan Wright, former parliamentary commissioner for the environment; and Dr Suzi Kerr, known internationally for her expertise in the economics of climate change policy and emissions trading.
Mackle says the members’ expertise will move NZ’s economy towards a low emission future.
The interim committee will consider agriculture’s role in meeting NZ’s greenhouse reduction targets and whether agricultural methane and nitrous oxide emissions should face a price in the NZ Emissions Trading Scheme.
“DairyNZ [will help] our levy payers do their part to address on farm emissions,” says Mackle. “The dairy industry must do its part alongside the wider economy to reduce and offset NZ’s greenhouse gas emissions.”
Climate Change Minister James Shaw referred to the members’ expertise in areas related to climate change: agriculture, agribusiness, climate change science and policy, resource economics and impacts, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, te reo me ona tikanga Māori and Māori interests, international competitiveness, and energy production and supply.
“We need work to start now on how agriculture might enter into the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZETS), and we need planning now for the transition to 100% renewable electricity generation by 2035,” says Shaw.
An independent climate change commission will be set up under the Zero Carbon Act in May next year.
In an ever-changing world, things never stay completely the same. Tropical jungles can turn into concrete ones criss-crossed by motorways, or shining cities collapse into ghost towns.
Labour's agriculture spokesperson Jo Luxton says while New Zealand needs more housing, sacrificing our best farmland to get there is not the answer.
Profitability issues facing arable farmers are the same across the world, says New Zealand's special agricultural trade envoy Hamish Marr.
Over 85% of Fonterra farmer suppliers will be eligible for customer funding up to $1,500 for solutions designed to drive on-farm efficiency gains and reduce emissions intensity.
Tighter beef and lamb production globally have worked to the advantage of NZ, according to the Meat Industry Association (MIA).
Managing director of Woolover Ltd, David Brown, has put a lot of effort into verifying what seems intuitive, that keeping newborn stock's core temperature stable pays dividends by helping them realise their full genetic potential.
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