Smart Farming
Greenpeace is in no way anti-farming. Far from it. We want New Zealand to be farming into the future and passing on truly sustainable, healthy farms to future generations.
New Zealanders take immense pride in our farming sector, and so we should. Farming is part of who we are as a nation and it comprises a crucial slice of our economy.
But agriculture also makes up half of all New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions. Increased use of chemical fertilisers, increases in the number of cows per acre, and the destruction of forests for pastures are all contributing to make agriculture's emissions unacceptable for a world facing the challenges of a changing climate.
Some New Zealand farmers are making the right choices, adopting practices that are not only better for the climate and the environment, but also for their bottom lines.
It's what we're calling smart farming, or what's known globally as ‘bio-logical' farming.
Smart farming is about reverting back to more traditional farming practices. It's about less input, and better output. It's about cutting down on chemicals, cutting back on herd numbers and looking after soil so that pasture thrives and lasts. Generations of farmers have successfully used this method in New Zealand - they knew how to work with the land and doing so is how they survived. In a way it's time to go back to basics.
Agriculture and climate change
Agriculture is a very greenhouse-gas intensive form of land use
Two thirds of our agricultural emissions come from the methane emitted
when cows burp. Methane is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide
(CO²).
The remaining emissions are from the nitrous oxide gas produced in soil
from artificial fertilizer use, livestock urine and manure. It is an
astounding 300 times more potent than CO².
Agriculture’s nitrous oxide emissions are higher than New Zealand's road transport emissions.
Corporate Dairy
The ongoing corporatisation and intensification of the dairy sector is by far our biggest contribution to global climate change.
What's more, these emissions are on the rise. As trees are cut down to make way for cows and pasture, and farming becomes more intensive, our emissions skyrocket
Emissions trading and agriculture:
The dairy industry is exempt from
taking real action to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions until 2013,
when it comes under the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Even then, the
agriculture sector’s involvement will be subsidised by taxpayers, so
there’s no incentive for farmers to reduce emissions and invest in
solutions.
Find out who is paying the price
What happens if New Zealand agriculture doesn’t lift its game?
Agriculture is the industry most reliant on
a healthy environment and most at risk from the effects of climate
change in New Zealand. Agriculture generates the bulk of our export
earnings and has an international reputation not only for quality
products, but also for being clean and green. This image - along with
the sector's economic sustainability - is under threat.
Greenpeace is calling for:
- Agriculture to come under the Emissions Trading Scheme before 2013
- Measures to encourage low-input, less intensive farming, and
- A moratorium on further conversion of forests to pasture
