Dairy farmers can show way in cutting emissions

New analysis shows dairy farmers around the world are making significant progress in lowering the greenhouse gas emission intensity of milk production according to Federated Farmers climate change spokesman (and Manawatu dairy farmer) Andrew Hoggard.

“It’s clear that while New Zealand dairy farmers must continue their ongoing efforts to boost productivity and reduce their environmental footprint, on the global emissions and food security front the best thing we can do is to help dairy farmers in developing nations get to where we already are,” he said.

Analysis from the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), presented to delegates to the COP24 climate change negotiations in Poland, showed that between 2005 and 2015 there was a 30 per cent jump in global milk production, from a 14 per cent increase in dairy cow numbers and a 15 per cent improvement in yield per cow (now 2514 litres/cow per lactation).

The figures, from a study commissioned from the Dairy Sustainability Framework, also showed that while total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the dairy sector rose about 18 per cent during the decade to 2015, emission intensity per kilogram of product fell 11 per cent, from 2.8 to 2.5kg of carbon dioxide equivalent.

Without these efficiency improvements, total emissions would have risen by almost 38 per cent to deliver the same amount of milk.

“We need to keep in mind that as well as climate change pressures, we have an equally pressing need to feed a world population predicted to increase by another 2.7 billion people by 2050. For billions of people around the world, milk and cheese is an affordable, accessible and nutrient-rich food supplying energy, protein and a range of micro-nutrients,” Mr Hoggard said. “In terms of GHG emissions, the production efficiency of New Zealand dairy farmers is one-third to one-half better than that achieved in many other countries.

“Combating global warming is a planet-wide mission, and we will strive for more gains in our own dairy sector, but the real difference we could make is helping some other nations with their production efficiency, including sharing the knowledge we gain from the world-leading Kiwi scientists and researchers working on these thorny global warming and climate change issues.”