Government Investment Initiatives under the Plan of Action

MONITORING AND MEASURING FARM EMISSIONS AND MITIGATION

September 2007

Pillar 2

Description

This initiative will develop a programme to help the agriculture sector monitor and share information on emissions from farms, and on ways to reduce these emissions.

Background

Some 40,000 individual farms generate about half of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions. Good information on emissions and means of reducing them is needed at the farm level so:

  • farmers can increase their understanding of emissions and means of reducing them;
  • businesses can demonstrate to increasingly selective consumers that their products have low greenhouse gas footprints;
  • businesses participating in the emissions trading scheme can better manage their liabilities;
  • the Government can develop effective and fair emissions policies, and meet its international reporting obligations.

Initiatives under the programme

Key initiatives include:

  • upgrading the Overseer farm nutrient management model1 to bring about better estimation of emissions and improve the effect of some mitigation methods at farm level;
  • improving the Catchment Land Use for Environmental Sustainability (CLUES) system2. This models the effect of different land-use scenarios on stream water quality and local communities;
  • working with the sector to explore strengthening the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) Farm Monitoring Programme to provide better information on emissions and mitigation from more farms;
  • helping the sectors and businesses to voluntarily monitor their emissions and demonstrate the greenhouse gas footprint of their products to discerning markets.

Government investment

Initiative 2007/08
$M		 2008/09
$M		 2009/10
$M		 2010/11
$M		 2011/12
$M		 Total to
2012
$M		 2013/14
and
beyond
$M
Farm Level
Greenhouse Gas
Monitoring and
Reporting		 0.860 1.510 1.210 1.210 1.215 6.005 1.215

Links to other government initiatives

Improved farm management of nitrogen not only reduces nitrous oxide emissions, it also reduces the leaching and runoff of polluting nitrates into groundwater and surface waters. This helps to improve management of the undesirable effects of land use on water quality and so work towards meeting one of the key objectives of the Sustainable Water Programme of Action.

The initiative is also linked to the Greenhouse Gas Footprinting Strategy under the Plan of Action (see separate sheet).

1 Developed jointly by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, AgResearch and the Fertiliser Manufacturers' Research Association.

2 Developed by AgResearch, NIWA, Landcare Research, HortResearch, Harris Consulting and Aqualinc Ltd.

Contact for Enquiries

Sustainable Land Management and Climate Change
MAF
Pastoral House
25 The Terrace
PO Box 2526, Wellington
Tel: 0800 CLIMATE (254 628)
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