Friday, 08 October 2021 12:55

Farmers flock to climate change workshop

Written by 
A series of climate change workshops are being held over the course of two weeks. A series of climate change workshops are being held over the course of two weeks.

Over the next two weeks, more than 1,500 farmers around New Zealand are getting to grips with why and how they should start responding to a changing climate, thanks to new workshops run by Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) and Silver Fern Farms (SFF).

The 59 workshops kicked off this week and are focused on supporting farmers to know the emissions profile of their farm.

The workshops step attendees through a process to ‘know their numbers’ by using B+LNZ’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Calculator. The second stage of the workshop provides technical assistance and templates so farmers can develop an action plan to manage GHG emissions.

B+LNZ’s North Island general manager Corina Jordan says the workshops are practical and add value to the farming business.

“Farmers need to understand their own ‘why’ in terms of climate response, so it really means something to them – whether that’s because they want to build a more resilient business, understand the implications of future policy on-farm, or whether they want to unlock market opportunities and meet the expectations of consumers,” says Jordan.

She says the workshops take a whole of farm systems approach, with the first step being to help farmers understand how actions undertaken on farm result in improvements in environmental performance including the sustainable management of GHGs, animal wellbeing and increasing on-farm performance.

“They’re then walked through the tools we’ve developed to help them with measurement and management. Farmers leave the workshops knowing their numbers, including carbon sequestration opportunities, and with a written plan that will future-proof their farming business.”

What they learn in the workshops will help farmers contribute to the sector’s He Waka Eke Noa Primary Sector Action Partnership milestones – by the end of this year, 25% of farmers need to know their annual total on-farm emissions and have a written plan to manage emissions.

The other benefit for farmers who attend is that they will be meeting a key requirement of the newly-launched New Zealand Farm Assurance Programme (NZFAP) Plus.

The workshops started this week and run until 15 October.

More like this

The politics of climate change

OPINION: The Financial Times, a major international newspaper, featured New Zealand on its front page at the beginning of June. It wasn't for the right reasons.

Featured

Australia develops first local mRNA FMD vaccine

Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.

NZ household food waste falls again

Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.

Editorial: No joking matter

OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.

National

Machinery & Products

Tech might take time

Agritech Unleashed – a one-day event held recently at Mystery Creek, near Hamilton – focused on technology as an ‘enabler’…

John Deere acquires GUSS Automation

John Deere has announced the full acquisition of GUSS Automation, LLC, a globally recognised leader in supervised high-value crop autonomy,…

Fencing excellence celebrated

The Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand (FCANZ) celebrated the best of the best at the 2025 Fencing Industry Awards,…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

A step too far

OPINION: For years, the ironically named Dr Mike Joy has used his position at Victoria University to wage an activist-style…

Save us from SAFE

OPINION: A mate of yours truly has had an absolute gutsful of the activist group SAFE.

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter