Ministry for the Environment to sponsor Ballance Farm Environment Award
The Ministry for the Environment is joining as a national award sponsor in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards (BFEA from next year).
The Ministry for the Environment's 2021 Greenhouse Gas Inventory says that for the year 2019, agriculture was New Zealand's biggest emitting sector.
The Ministry for the Environment’s (MfE) 2021 Greenhouse Gas Inventory revealed that for the year 2019, agriculture was among the two largest contributors to New Zealand’s gross Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions.
The report, which documents all of New Zealand’s human-generated greenhouse gas emissions and removals since 1990, shows that New Zealand’s gross emissions were 82.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2-e) in 2019.
The report states that emissions for the agriculture sector made up 48% of New Zealand’s gross emissions.
It also states that between 1990 and 2019, gross emissions increased by 26%, largely down to increases in methane from dairy cattle digestive systems and carbon dioxide from road transport.
On the whole, gross emissions in 2019 comprised 46% carbon dioxide, 42% methane, 10% nitrous oxide and 2% fluorinated gases.
The Greenhouse Gas Inventory is collated as one of New Zealand’s mandatory reporting obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol.
It informs MfE policy recommendations on climate change and includes data that helps monitor New Zealand’s progress towards emissions reduction targets.
Canterbury farmer Michelle Pye has been elected to Fonterra’s board for a three-year term.
Farmers are welcoming the announcement of two new bills to replace the under-fire Resource Management Act.
The Government has announced it will immediately roll over all resource consents for two years, with legislation expected to pass under urgency as early as this week.
The New Zealand National Fieldays Society has achieved a major sustainability milestone - reducing its greenhouse gas emissions and reaching the target five years early.
Fonterra's 2025/26 financial year is off to a strong start, with a first quarter group profit after tax of $278 million- up $15m on the previous year.
Government plans to get rid of regional councillors shows a lack of understanding of the fundamental problem affecting all of local government - poor governance.

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