50 GHG workshops in 30 days

The aim is to deliver the Greenhouse Gas Calculator and Action Plan workshops is to reach as many farmers as possible during the month of August.

Supporting farmers in knowing their greenhouse gas (GHG) numbers is part of the He Waka Eke Noa programme; the primary sector’s climate change commitment to measure, manage and reduce on-farm agriculture GHG emissions.

Farmers will need to know their farm’s annual GHG numbers by December 2022 and have a written plan in place for measuring and managing their emissions by January 2025.

The 50 workshops, held across the country, are designed to explain the importance of farmers knowing their GHG numbers and help them calculate their on-farm emissions using B+LNZ’s GHG Calculator.

Farmers who attend will also be shown how to create GHG action plans suited to their farms.

B+LNZ’s environment integration lead Sarah Crofoot says the workshops help farmers to build resilience into their businesses, while giving the public confidence that the sector is playing its part in addressing climate change.

“We understand that change is happening quickly, which can be overwhelming, but farmers knowing their on-farm emissions numbers provides an important platform for future decisions and understanding the impact of policy changes,” she says.

Denny Hailes, general manager livestock and shareholder services at Alliance Group, says the level of interest from farmers has been pleasing and a high turnout is expected for the flurry of workshops in August.

“It’s important that farmers know how to calculate their farm’s greenhouse gas emissions so they can make a plan to reduce them,” he says.

Hailes says the workshops provide farmers with the advice and information needed to take the first step.

“As a 100 per cent farmer-owned co-operative, there has been strong interest in the workshops from our farmers and we encourage any farmer interested in knowing their number to head along.”