The latest analysis of farm sales data confirms the increasing price of carbon in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is driving the conversion of whole pastoral farms into forestry, particularly for carbon farming. Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) is tracking data on farm sales for conversion into forestry as concerns continue to grow over […]
Biodiversity
New app to help manage invasive tussock
A new free web app has been designed to help farmers, landowners and regional councils manage a costly weed that has resisted eradication efforts in New Zealand for over a century. Nassella tussock (Nassella trichotoma) occurs in drought-prone grasslands, mainly in the Canterbury and Marlborough regions. It is unique in that it is the only […]
Farmers in ‘waiting room’ on change impacts
Federated Farmers Whanganui President Mike Cranstone wrote this report for his newsletter to local members, but it’s worth sharing wider… It’s like sitting in the surgeon’s waiting room for Whanganui Farmers – conditions are good but there is uncertainty as to what lies ahead. We haven’t seen the surgeons (Ministers Parker and Shaw) for a […]
Move now to define ‘regenerative’ on our terms
There is no unified, single definition of what ‘regenerative agriculture’ is globally. A new report argues New Zealand should step up and craft that definition – and seize the market premiums that could go with it. New York-based Alpha Food Labs spearheaded a global research project on consumers’ attitudes to regenerative agriculture on behalf of […]
Feds whistle up support for the whio
Federated Farmers is once again championing the whio (blue duck) to take the Bird of the Year title. New Zealanders sticking to their home bubble under COVID alert levels should feel some affinity for this plucky and endangered native duck because they also live rather isolated lives in the less modified catchments of the Urerewa, […]
Tairāwhiti region’s ‘death by a thousand cuts’
The Tairāwhiti region’s economy and job prospects will be hammered if the rate of carbon-only forest conversions continue unabated and unregulated, Federated Farmers Gisborne-Wairoa President Toby Williams says. “That’s the grim outlook confirmed by the final report by accountancy and financial advisory firm BDO. “My concern is that when our authorities and residents – and […]
Who’s that bird?
We all know that farmers and rural people are great conservationists, and we understand and encourage birdlife on farm, but historically this has been an anecdotal record-keeping system. We recently caught up with the team from ebird which is co-ordinating the New Zealand Bird Atlas project. This is a Citizen Science project run by Birds […]
Trees your friend, not your competition, farmers told
by Simon Edwards Trees versus food production arguments are misleading and detract from opportunities to improve the sustainability and profitability of the wider farming sector, Forest Owners Association President Phil Taylor told the Primary Industries Summit last month. “Trees, in various places, for various reasons, at various times, are going to complement and protect farming […]
Tapping farmer knowledge, effort a key to Te Manahuna Aoraki pest control
By Simon Edwards Two or three hares can eat as much as a sheep in alpine grassland. They’ll also damage saplings and shrubs. As part of his research, Otago PhD student Nick Foster needed help to put GPS collars on hares in the nationally significant biodiversity area looked after by Te Manahuna Aoraki. Lilybank Station […]
Twelve wilding pines projects to share $2 million
Twelve community projects across New Zealand will receive a share of $2 million to carry out wilding pine control, Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor announced as part of Biosecurity Week. “Wilding pines are a serious problem that threaten many of the unique landscapes that New Zealanders value. Community groups and trusts on the ground can play […]