New Zealand farmers are well-placed to meet global demands, the prime minister says (file image). Photo: Cosmo Kentish-Barnes
The government has announced a suite of measures to help farmers reduce their greenhouse gas emissions while retaining a competitive business edge.
They include $17.7 million towards a new greenhouse gas testing facility and $4.3m towards soil and grass research, including a faster hybrid breeding system for ryegrass.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor made the announcement while at the Fieldays in Waikato this afternoon.
Hipkins said the government wanted to partner with farmers to ensure New Zealand retained its brand as a low emissions source of food and fibre.
"More and more people are choosing to buy products that come from a place where animals are treated well, there is a low impact on the environment and production contributes minimally to global emissions," Hipkins said.
The country's farmers were already "well-placed" to meet global demands and markets like Europe and the United Kingdom were perfect places to get greater value for exported products, he said.
"These investments in further research and development will make our farms more resilient, improve pasture productivity and reduce emissions, while also ensuring there is a local support network to help farmers right now."
O'Connor said New Zealand's primary producers made more than $53 billion in export earnings for the first time ever last year and the sector was set to reach new heights again this year.
"Lifting our sustainability credentials and lowering our emissions profile will be key to future-proofing the industry and cementing a path towards continued export growth."
The new greenhouse gas testing facility would provide the permanent measuring equipment and facilities needed to support the country's emissions reduction plan without burdening farmers, he said.
The government would pay for the lion's share ($11.7m) of the new build that would include 12 respiration chambers to measure and monitor changes to methane emissions in individual cows.
The facility would be funded by the Centre for Climate Action on Agricultural Emissions ($4m), its primary sector joint venture partners, and AgResearch ($2m) while Massey University in Palmerston North would supply land for the facility and cattle for testing.
The government was allocating $4.3m to test the impacts of deferred grazing on hill country sheep and beef farms post-drought and also work out how to increase the productivity of pasture grass.
"The new ryegrass pastures under development are expected to increase productivity by around 20 percent, and provide farmers with options to reduce nitrate leaching, increase carbon sequestration and improve water use efficiency," O'Connor said.