MANIFESTO OUTLINES INDUSTRY DESIRES Beef + Lamb New Zealand and the Meat Industry Association are presenting the sector’s priorities to all political parties ahead of this year’s General Election. The two organisations, who represent New Zealand sheep and beef farmers and meat processors, marketers and exporters, have outlined in a manifesto a set of key priority policy areas on which to base a stronger partnership with government. MIA chief executive Tim Ritchie says the sheep and beef sector is New Zealand’s second largest goods exporter and a significant contributor to the New Zealand economy. “The sector contributed NZ$7 billion to New Zealand’s total GDP last year and we aim to increase this in coming years through partnership and collaboration with government and others. Trade is a key priority for our export-focused sector as more than 90% of production is exported, valued at NZ$7.5 billion last year. We are looking to work with government to further the trade liberalisation agenda including by addressing non-tariff barriers that plague the sector,” Ritchie says. B+LNZ chief executive Sam McIvor says the sector plays an important role in rural communities, employing around 80,000 people (directly and indirectly) and making it New Zealand’s largest manufacturing industry. “The environment is a significant focus for the sector, with managing our impact on water quality a key priority, alongside climate change and biodiversity,” he says.“We are already undertaking substantial work in the environment space, but need government to work alongside the sector in developing policy equipping farmers with the right knowledge, tools and support for continuous improvement.” Other priority areas outlined in the manifesto include animal welfare, food safety, biosecurity, innovation, employment relations, immigration, health and safety, and training. the reduction of on-farm emissions is not going to be easy. It requires our Government and the agricultural sector to work together and, as such, the plan is an important part of a broader work programme underway. It is crucial to take an integrated approach to all the challenges facing dairy – from climate change and animal welfare, to the protection of waterways – and all the while maintain productivity and the profitability of dairy, says Fonterra chief operating officer Farm Source Miles Hurrell The plan complements the environmental commitment dairy farmers have voluntarily undertaken through their work under the Sustainable Dairying: Water Accord. Some of their work – such as tree planting, better soil management and reducing nitrogen leaching, therefore reducing the release of nitrous oxide – is already helping to address emissions. Then there are the other science-based endeavours that are well underway, like the research to breed cows that produce fewer methane emissions, and a methane inhibiting vaccine. The Dairy Action for Climate Change dovetails with the work of the Biological Emissions Reference Group (BERG), a joint sector and Government reference group. The BERG’s purpose is to build robust and agreed evidence on what the sector can do on-farm to reduce emissions, and to assess the costs and opportunities of doing so. The BERG’s final report in late 2017 will be necessary to inform future policy development on agricultural emissions. New Zealand’s agricultural output of greenhouse gas is accentuated because we have a relatively small population, and we are not heavily industrialised. In other countries where there are larger populations the greater contribution is from the transport, manufacturing, construction, and energy sectors. Our agricultural sector is a very efficient producer of high-quality food – food that feeds many millions, not only in our country, but also around the world. New Zealand is acknowledged as a world-leader for efficiently producing milk on a greenhouse gas per unit of milk basis, as identified in a 2010 report from the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation. This position is the result of New Zealand dairy cattle being healthier and largely grass fed, unlike animals in many other agricultural countries which are fed grains and other supplements that are harvested and transported. Added to this, their animals are often housed in barns, sometimes year around, not just over the winter months. Dr Tim Mackle Miles Hurrell Sam McIvor www.foodtechnology.co.nz 45
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