Challenge for dairy farmers
Dairy farmers at DairyNZ’s Farmers’ Forum have been challenged to take their world-leading farm systems and continue toward an increasingly sustainable future.
The forum in Waikato and Southland opened on April 29, with keynote speaker Climate Change Minister James Shaw, who acknowledged the sector’s success and where dairy is heading.
“We know that New Zealand’s dairy farmers have amongst the lowest carbon footprint per unit of production in the world. That is something for us to build on, to bend the curve on our total emissions output, because it is our total emissions that cause climate change,” Shaw said.
“There have been things happening in the sector over the past few years that are changing the way things are done. These are making significant impacts for the farmers adopting them, reducing their emissions whilst at the same time increasing their profitability. Our task now is to roll out these innovations and changes in farm practice, right across the country.
“The same thing is true in every sector of the economy. There is a lot of work to be done, but if we get it right, what we’ll see is a cleaner and more productive country.”
Leading New Zealand economist Cameron Bagrie also emphasised challenges facing the sector, including climate change and the labour issues, but suggests the farming sector’s sentiment in the next 10 to 20 years should be a glass half full.
“Our country’s world leading agricultural sector has made big advances over the past few years, including tidying up balance sheets, and improvements can and should continue,” said Bagrie. DairyNZ chairman Jim van der Poel said we can be proud of our worldleading history in technology innovation and farming practices.
For more and to register, visit https://protect-au.mimecast.com/ s/VYofCL7rM6tXLDY1SBCTrD? domain=dairynz.co.nz