Alliance commissions major heat pump system at Mataura, cutting coal use and emissions
Alliance Group has commissioned a new heat pump system at its Mataura processing plant in Southland.
The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) says it is seeking research proposals to help improve New Zealand’s reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, forestry, and other land uses.
The annual funding round for the Greenhouse Gas Inventory Research (GHGIR) fund is now open, with $2.9 million of funding available for new GHGIR projects in the 2024/25 financial year.
MPI director of programmes and planning, policy and trade, Stephanie Preston says the fund focuses on improving knowledge of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions, to ensure the best possible data is available to help manage New Zealand’s emissions and inform policy decisions.
“This year we’re looking for very specific proposals in 10 priority areas, ranging from improving liveweight estimation of sheep and beef to exploring remote sensing methods of collecting data, such as using satellite data to measure feed type and quality,” Preston says.
The priorities for this year’s funding round include non-forest land-use emissions model; a review and improvements to energy equations and intake; new afforestation and deforestation intentions survey; seasonal dairy supplementary feed data intake; and improved activity data and parameters for deer.
Preston says the outcomes will inform MPI’s reporting to the New Zealand Greenhouse Gas Inventory and the United Nations under the Paris Climate Agreement.
The annual Greenhouse Gas Inventory reports on human-induced emissions and removals of greenhouse gases for energy, industrial processes, agriculture, land use, land use change and forestry, and waste.
The inventory is produced by government agencies, with MPI responsible for producing the chapter on agricultural emissions. The report is submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change secretariat each year.
The Push-Up Challenge, an event which combines mental health and fitness, is set to launch in New Zealand in 2026.
Last month's Agritechnica event led to a wide group of manufacturers celebrating successes when the 2026 Tractor of the Year Competition winners, selected by a panel of European journalists, were announced in Hanover Germany.
According to the latest Federated Farmers banking survey, farmers are more satisfied with their bank and less under pressure, however, the sector is well short of confidence levels seen last decade.
Farmer confidence has taken a slight dip according to the final Rabobank rural confidence survey for the year.
Former Agriculture Minister and Otaki farmer Nathan Guy has been appointed New Zealand’s Special Agricultural Trade Envoy (SATE).
Alliance Group has commissioned a new heat pump system at its Mataura processing plant in Southland.