Protecting the future of our ag sector; a sound investment

In a previous issue of Rural Guardian, North Otago farmer Jane Smith sought convincing  on why it’s worth spending millions of dollars to find a way to reduce emissions from New Zealand livestock through AgriZeroNZ.

The answer is quite simple: to protect our farmers’ livelihoods and the $42.7 billion industry they have worked so hard to create.

As an export-reliant country, reducing emissions is no longer a choice, but a requirement from our global customers and trade partners to protect our sector’s future.

AgriZeroNZ is focused on providing farmers with practical solutions to help them reduce emissions, without compromising on profitability and productivity.

Contrary to the claims, we are not about reducing animal numbers or getting them off pasture – quite the opposite, in fact.

I’ve discussed this with Jane previously and I welcome this opportunity to clarify why AgriZeroNZ exists for Rural Guardian readers.

Farmers are the backbone of our economy. They work tirelessly to support our country and feed the world - but international customers that pay a premium for our high-quality grass-fed milk and meat products (e.g.  Tesco, Sainsbury’s, McDonald’s, Nestlé, Danone, Mars and others) are all pushing deep into their supply chains to get emissions reductions, with ambitious, global, science-based scope 3 targets.

When these companies meet with their suppliers, our processors and co-ops, the conversations are acutely focused on New Zealand’s contribution to their scope 3 emissions – not New Zealand’s relative contribution to global emissions or warming.

It’s widely acknowledged that our farmers are among the most emissions efficient in the world. Customers know this, but that doesn’t change the fact that they want our farmers to help them deliver on those targets. Otherwise they will go elsewhere for their meat and dairy products (or even use non-meat and dairy alternatives).

Furthermore, global competitors are catching up, with access to mitigation tools that aren’t well suited to our pasture-based farms. Some even say they are already more efficient than us.

We can debate the science of methane until the cows come home, but the reality is we need urgent action, or we risk losing high-end customers, market access and potentially breaching trade agreements.

AgriZeroNZ was set up last year to deliver a step-change in investment to accelerate development of emissions reduction tools specifically for our pastoral farms.

Our shareholders represent some of the biggest players in the ag sector and they have made a significant commitment to help farmers by investing in AgriZeroNZ.

To date, we’ve committed over $29 million across 10 high-impact opportunities including pasture, probiotics, methane vaccines and inhibitors. We’re scanning the world for solutions, and we have 77 other items on our radar for review. The companies we’re investing in are also making commitments to bring the tools to New Zealand and we are supporting them through the regulatory pathway to gain approval for use on-farm.

We understand farmers care deeply about this and we welcome ongoing input.

That’s why we’re establishing a group of farmers to advise us on matters ranging from implementation of tools and new tech to incentives and farm adoption. I encourage farmers to register their interest to join our Farmer Focus Group via the contact form on our website.

We’re also being very transparent on our progress and where the funds are being spent, with regular updates published on our website and social channels.

Based on what we’ve seen around the world, I’m optimistic farmers will have two or three tools to choose from before 2030, to protect (and enhance) our fantastic farming reputation and the future competitiveness of our exports. That’s a sound investment for us all.

Wayne McNee is chief executive of AgriZeroNZ, a public-private partnership half owned by government through the Ministry for Primary Industries and the other half owned by The a2 Milk Company, ANZ Bank New Zealand, ANZCO Foods, ASB Bank, Bank of New Zealand (BNZ), Fonterra, Rabobank, Ravensdown, Silver Fern Farms and Synlait.