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OPINION: Westpac is the latest bank to tell its farmer clients to meet the climate targets it has set.
The bank has set a target of lowering emissions per unit of meat or milk by 9% across its sheep and beef lending and 10% for dairy.
The bank has used the same intensity-style target Fonterra used to set its Scope three emissions target. Buit Westpac hasn’t set an outright reduction goal, saying it wanted to work with farmers on improving practices.
Fonterra warned farmers that banks were also linking loans to emissions profiles of farms.
A hypothesis in a major dairy research programme that bulls genetically proven to be low methane producers could pass this trait onto their lactating daughters has been proven to be incorrect.
New research suggests sheep and beef farmers could improve both profitability and emissions efficiency by increasing lamb weaning weights, with only marginal changes in total greenhouse gas emissions.
Reducing emissions is a constant battle at Yealands Wines in the Awatere Valley, with nearly 20 years chipping away at carbon.
A new Westpac NZ community banking van begins making visits around Northland this week.
Alliance Group has commissioned a new heat pump system at its Mataura processing plant in Southland.
Oamaru-based livestock handling specialist Te Pari has bought Combi Clamp, the New Zealand manufacturer of Combi Clamp manual sheep handlers.
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has admitted that a scheme bringing workers from Pacific nations to work on orchards has become too hard to navigate but says changes are coming.
A new app designed in New Zealand aims to help sheep, beef and deer farmers capture, analyse and use body condition score data more effectively.
Canterbury farmer Andy Macfarlane has been appointed to the board of AgriZeroNZ, the public-private partnership designed to accelerate the development and deployment of emissions reduction tools for New Zealand farmers.
For over 50 years Mel Ewers has been supporting the apple sector navigate through compliance and quality assurance issues.
The apple sector is enjoying a bumper harvest season.
