Cleland named OSPRI chair
Southland farmer and director Tony Cleland has been named OSPRI New Zealand’s new chair.
A report from Beef + Lamb New Zealand highlights the role NZ-produced red meat has to play in a sustainable diet.
The Role of Red Meat in Healthy and Sustainable New Zealand Diets, the report's fourth iteration, was released on 27 November.
It assessed evidence regarding nutrition and the environment in relation to New Zealand beef and lamb.
"The role red meat plays in the diets of Kiwis has received plenty of consideration over recent years," said Fiona Windle, head of nutrition at Beef + Lamb New Zealand (BLNZ).
She says the report aims to provide a New Zealand-centric analysis of available evidence to inform people about red meat's role in diets.
Windle says it will "bring balance to a discourse that has too often become binary and, at times, unconstructive."
The report claims that New Zealand is one of the most efficient whole life-cycle producers of beef and lamb in the world.
It points out that New Zealand's carbon emissions per kilogram of beef or lamb produced are about 25% of the global average.
BLNZ chief executive Sam McIvor says Kiwis need to be aware of how different New Zealand's farming methods are from those used overseas.
He says that the sector is well on its way towards achieving its goal of being carbon neutral by 2050.
McIvor says one of the reasons for this is the amount of carbon-sequestering vegetation on sheep and beef farms, which offsets between 63 and 118% of emissions.
"A huge amount of work has been done by farmers over the last couple of decades to protect and enhance the vegetation on their farms," he explains.
"We encourage Kiwis to find out more about how their food is produced, because sheep and beef farming stacks up well on key criteria such as environmental impact."
Boutique Waikato cheese producer Meyer Cheese is investing in a new $3.5 million facility, designed to boost capacity and enhance the company's sustainability credentials.
OPINION: The Government's decision to rule out changes to Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) that would cost every farmer thousands of dollars annually, is sensible.
Compensation assistance for farmers impacted by Mycoplama bovis is being wound up.
Selecting the reverse gear quicker than a lovestruck boyfriend who has met the in-laws for the first time, the Coalition Government has confirmed that the proposal to amend Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) charged against farm utes has been canned.
Holstein Friesian excellence was front and centre at the 2025 Holstein Friesian NZ (HFNZ) Awards, held recently in Invercargill.
The work Fonterra has done with Ballance Agri-Nutrients Ltd, LIC and Ravensdown to save farmers time through better data connections has been recognised with a national award.