Can New Zealand farms be profitable and have lower greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient losses?
New research used a “learning from farmers” approach to begin to provide answers to this question.
Sarah Hawkins, agribusiness consultant for BakerAg NZ and research lead, said that reducing absolute emissions doesn’t need to compromise profitability.
The team compared the performance of pairs of farms from four regions – Waikato, Manawatū, Canterbury and Southland – in the study funded by the Our Land and Water Rural Professionals Fund.
The research set out to uncover measurable differences in emissions (nitrogen, phosphorus and greenhouse gases, or GHG) among similar farms by examining what successful farmers were already doing.
Key learnings from the case study farms highlighted that there is a sweet spot for each farm, balancing environmental and financial outcomes. This may not be the farming system that achieves the most production per cow or per hectare.
Farms with lower total GHG emissions are not always the farms with the best emissions intensity. Whether emissions intensity or absolute reductions will be more relevant is yet to be defined – with regulation driving an absolute emissions measure and markets driving an emissions intensity measure.
Reducing GHG emissions was also found to not necessarily result in changes to nitrogen or phosphorus losses to water. Those nutrient losses are influenced in large part by the underlying physical characteristics of the farm and farm management.
Hawkins said that New Zealand farmers will have no choice but to reduce their environmental footprint and she believes they are not yet fully prepared for what is to come, which leaves many feeling overwhelmed by the pressure and task ahead.
The 2019 Climate Change Response Act commits New Zealand farmers to a substantial 24-47% reduction in GHG emissions by 2050 relative to 2017 levels. Financial institutions and international companies such as Danone and Nestlé are also making commitments to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Some farms already achieving low GHG emissions while remaining profitable are employing methods that have not been thoroughly investigated, leaving many farmers without the necessary knowledge about how to improve their existing farm systems.
The research highlights three key levers that can be pulled to help reduce emissions and nutrient losses and that are reflected in the approved models:
• Reducing nitrogen fertiliser and reducing imported supplements.
•Improving feed conversion efficiency through management and livestock performance.
• Reducing feed and livestock wastage on farm.
The research raises additional questions that will be important in refining the goalposts for farmers and the relevant tools at their disposal, from a suitable GHG accounting system that is fair and equitable, through to what the measure for GHG accounting will be.
“Do farmers need to account for all support land, young stock and winter, or just the milking platform? What will be the measure for greenhouse gas accounting – emissions/ha or emission/kg of product? The two measures have different drivers and will result in different outcomes for farmers and processors,” said Hawkins.
It was noted that the optimal farm system will likely change over time as environmental requirements change.
“This research is just the start. It helps highlight on real farms that there are small changes that most farmers can make on their farms, which will make a real tangible difference.”
With the postponement of government regulation, Hawkins said she recommends farmers take a proactive approach to understanding their own farm system, and understand what levers might make a difference on your farm.
“There are now six years that are available to make positive changes – while protecting the bottom line,” said Hawkins.
More: This article was made possible by Our Land and Water.
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