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Outgoing LIC chief executive Wayne McNee.
Wayne McNee says LIC is well-placed to play a leading role in helping farmers meet sustainability goals.
He told Dairy News that the focus on sustainability provides a massive opportunity to add value to dairying.
McNee, who served on the Sustainability Business Council (SBC) board, was instrumental in the release of LIC's first sustainability report.
LIC is part of the Climate Leaders Coalition, The Aotearoa Council and the SBC.
When joining SBC, members are required to introduce annual three reporting practices, which outline progress on environmental, social, governance and economic issues.
McNee says the report meets those requirements from a business perspective, but it's also an opportunity to demonstrate how LIC is responding to sustainability challenges facing farmers and the New Zealand dairy industry.
"As a farmer-owned co-operative and world leader in pasture based dairy genetics and herd management, we have a critical role to play in helping New Zealand's dairy farmers meet their sustainability goals," he says.
McNee says LIC exists to deliver superior genetics and technological innovation to help shareholders sustainably farm a profitable animal.
"So sustainability is baked into our purpose.
"While many industries only recently began responding to climate challenges, LIC and its farmer shareholders began work over 30 years ago to improve genetic gain within the herd using genomics."
The LIC Sustainability Report has information about its environmental, social and economic performance for the year ended 31 May 2021. McNee says LIC has made great progress on its sustainability journey, especially over the last four years.
Some of these are:
Measuring LIC performance from a social perspectiive is a new feature of the reporting.
Organisational Health Index (OHI) is a McKinsey tool which measures the impact of organisation practices and culture on performance against international benchmarks.
LIC is in the upper end of the second quartile of all tested companies by McKinsey worldwide.
The economic section of the Sustainability Report explains LIC is delivering value to farmer shareholders by investing in initiatives to help them breed the most profitable and sustainable animal.
McNee says LIC is committed to open and transparent reporting on sustainability.
LIC chief executive David Chin says meeting the revised methane reduction targets will rely on practical science, smart technology, and genuine collaboration across the sector.
Opening a new $3 million methane research barn in Waikato this month, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay called on the dairy sector to “go as fast as you can and prove the concepts”.
The Government has announced it has invested $8 million in lower methane dairy genetics research.
Sustainability is no longer a "nice to have", says Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand Programme Manager Meagan Littlejohn.
The first calves of a new crossbred dairy-beef offering are now on the ground at a Pamu (Landcorp) farm near Taupo.
Acclaimed fruit grower Dean Astill never imagined he would have achieved so much in the years since being named the first Young Horticulturist of the Year, 20 years ago.
The Ashburton-based Carrfields Group continues to show commitment to future growth and in the agricultural sector with its latest investment, the recently acquired 'Spring Farm' adjacent to State Highway 1, Winslow, just south of Ashburton.
New Zealand First leader and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has blasted Fonterra farmers shareholders for approving the sale of iconic brands to a French company.
A major feature of the Ashburton A&P Show, to be held on October 31 and November 1, will be the annual trans-Tasman Sheep Dog Trial test match, with the best heading dogs from both sides of the Tasman going head-to-head in two teams of four.
Fewer bobby calves are heading to the works this season, as more dairy farmers recognise the value of rearing calves for beef.
The key to a dairy system that generates high profit with a low emissions intensity is using low footprint feed, says Fonterra program manager on-farm excellence, Louise Cook.
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