Agriculture leads significant drop in greenhouse gas emissions, millions at stake as New Zealand fights for infant formula labelling rights, and environmental stewardship and innovation take centre stage at arable awards. Welcome to Proud Country's Early Bird - The top things you need to know that impact rural New Zealand delivered to you by 5am, because who doesn’t need better chat beyond the weather! Agriculture leads significant drop in greenhouse gas emissions New Zealand has achieved its largest quarterly reduction in total greenhouse gas emissions in 14 years, with the agriculture sector leading the charge. Statistics NZ reports that for the March 2024 quarter, seasonally adjusted greenhouse gas emissions from industries and households decreased by 2.7%. This marks the most significant quarterly decline since March 2010, excluding the unusual circumstances of the pandemic years. Stephen Oakley, environmental-economic accounts manager, attributes this impressive 541 kilotonne reduction mainly to lower emissions from agriculture, forestry, and fishing. This sector alone saw a decrease of 154 kilotonnes, or 1.4%, in the quarter. The agricultural sector's emissions have now fallen 8.1% from their March 2019 high. Moreover, it showed the largest annual decrease in the year to March, with emissions down 6% or 2,776 kilotonnes from their March 2014 yearly high. Manufacturing also contributed to the overall reduction, with emissions falling 88 kilotonnes or 4% in the March 2024 quarter. This marks the third consecutive quarter of decreased emissions for this sector. However, not all sectors saw reductions. The electricity, gas, water, and waste services industry recorded the largest increase in emissions, up 126 kilotonnes or 7.7%. This rise was attributed to increased natural gas use for electricity generation, following an 18% decrease in the previous quarter. Household emissions saw a slight increase of 0.6% or 12 kilotonnes, mainly due to higher heating and cooling emissions. Transport emissions from households remained relatively stable. Looking at the year ended March 2024, overall greenhouse gas emissions rose 0.5% or 396 kilotonnes. The main contributors to this annual increase were the transport, postal, and warehousing industry, as well as the electricity, gas, water, and waste services sectors. Millions at stake as New Zealand fights for infant formula labelling rights New Zealand's Minister of Food Safety, Andrew Hoggard, is heading to Australia for a crucial meeting tomorrow to protect our infant formula exports to Australia and potentially to China. The issue involves new rules that could limit how New Zealand producers display ingredient information on their packaging. These changes come from an Australian initiative to encourage more mothers to breastfeed. However, our local producers argue that caregivers who need formula should have complete access to product information. The French company Danone has cautioned that these changes might lead to job losses and reduced exports. On Monday, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon highlighted the economic stakes. He estimated that $300 million in Australian sales and up to $2 billion in other markets could be at risk. This regulatory alignment effort between Australia and New Zealand, which started in 2013, is nearly complete. If enacted, the new rules would take effect in five years. Minister Hoggard says that while most of the agreement is acceptable, two key areas remain contentious. These relate to what manufacturers can include on front-of-pack labelling about ingredients or protein content. Hoggard aims to negotiate a relaxation of these restrictions. If unsuccessful, New Zealand might need to create its own standard, which would increase costs for local manufacturers. The minister also raised concerns about how these changes could affect our exports to China. While Chinese standards are even stricter, they currently allow imports that meet Food Standards Australia and New Zealand regulations. Jonathan Chew, head of the Infant Nutrition Council warned that this could disadvantage New Zealand goods compared to those from the European Union, where labelling rules are less restrictive. As negotiations unfold, the outcome will have significant implications for our infant formula industry, affecting both domestic production and our position in international markets. Biosecurity teams head overseas to combat Bird Flu threat New Zealand is taking decisive action against the looming threat of deadly bird flu strains, with biosecurity teams embarking on crucial missions to Australia and the United Kingdom, aiming to gather vital information and strategies. This aggressive strain of bird flu has affected marine mammals worldwide and recently emerged in US cattle, even infecting a small number of farm workers. While New Zealand has remained free of these highly aggressive strains, the Ministry for Primary Industries is not taking any chances. Dr Mary ...
