Modern, science-based farming is the way to achieve a future for New Zealand where dairy farming has a lower environmental footprint, says DairyNZ’s chief executive, Dr Tim Mackle.
His comment follows today’s announcement of the Dairy Action for Climate Change at National Fieldays.
The Dairy Action for Climate Change lays down the foundation to reduce greenhouse gasses on dairy farms. The plan is spearheaded by DairyNZ, which represents all dairy farmers in New Zealand, and is in partnership with Fonterra. The plan has the support of the Ministry for the Environment and the Ministry for Primary Industries.
Dr Mackle says dairy farmers, and the scientists working alongside them, are serious about improving the environment.
“This plan lays down the foundation for dairy’s sustained, strategic approach to a lower carbon future. We’re taking the first steps in understanding what dairy can do – in conjunction with the wider agricultural sector, plus industry and urban communities – to help meet New Zealand’s Paris Agreement emissions reduction target.
“Our farmers are ready to work on lowering emissions – they are used to rising to the challenge, and they’re dedicated stewards of their land who want to do the right thing by the environment.”
Dr Mackle says addressing on-farm emissions – methane, which is formed when ruminant animals burp, and nitrous oxide, formed when nitrogen escapes into the atmosphere – is one of the most challenging issues facing the dairy and food producing sectors, globally and in New Zealand.
“Tackling 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.”
Fonterra’s Chief Operating Officer Farm Source, Miles Hurrell, says 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.
“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.”
Dr Mackle adds that 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.
Dr Mackle says this positioning 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.
The Dairy Action for Climate Change was launched during the opening of the 49th National Fieldays by Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett.
| A DairyNZ release || June 14, 2017 |||
New Zealand’s primary industries need to latch on to technology faster to support the economic growth of its agri sector and become a world leader in a fast growing agritech market, NZTech chief executive Graeme Muller says.
NZTech members have joined hundreds of other firms at Fieldays in Hamilton this week as technology becomes increasingly important for the New Zealand agri sector.
A growing awareness of the value of technology in agriculture can be seen by the number of farmers looking into technologies such as IoT, drones, sensors and robotics, Muller says.
“A report by the IoT Alliance, due for release on June 29 looks into the economic value that IoT could bring the New Zealand economy, has identified that better use of IoT by dairy farmers could potentially generate as much as $448 million worth of net economic benefit for New Zealand.
“For example, even firms like Xero have identified how effective business processes are now critical for modern farmers promoting Xero Farming. Xero Farming in the Cloud delivers New Zealand farmers with a tool for effective farm management. Xero is delivering a farming eco-system of partners which will connect farmers with digital tools to save time.”
New Zealand is achieving good agritech export growth rates relative to other nations. Global agritech investment is expanding rapidly, with investment in agritech firms in 2014 was estimated at over $US2.36 billion making investment in agritech higher than fintech.
“With our traditional strengths in agriculture and our growing strengths in tech, this is an opportunity we should pursue with vigour. Agriculture is a big user and creator of technology,” Muller says.
“Tech sector innovations are being adopted in many agricultural areas with examples such as the application of precision agriculture on-farm and industry-wide information capture and utilisation through activities such as the development of initiatives such as the Dairy Data Network and Agrigate.
“Production costs have placed pressure on the competitive position of New Zealand agriculture in world markets. Reversing a slowdown in productivity growth is critical given the challenges the sector faces with strengthening environmental regulation.
“Digital agriculture, in the form of precision farming, big data, sensor technology and drones, delivers a new potential for productivity gains across rural New Zealand,” he says.
The tech sector is the country’s third largest and fastest growing export sector, worth over $6.3 billion in 2015 and employing 5 percent of the New Zealand workforce.
| A MakeLemonade release || June 14, 2017 |||
Trade Minister Todd McClay says a new era of closer economic relations with the Pacific has dawned following the signing of the PACER Plus trade and development agreement in Tonga today.
“This is a landmark moment for the economic future of the Pacific. Pacer Plus will help sustainably develop the countries involved through trade and help raise the standard of living for their people. A more resilient and prosperous Pacific is in all of our interests,” Mr McClay says.
“In the short-term, the Pacific countries who have signed this agreement will benefit economically and socially through the joint NZ Australia $55 million development package. Long-term, trade will help transform their economies by providing reliable income and sustainable growth.”
“PACER Plus also benefits New Zealand businesses by establishing a common set of trading rules covering goods, services and investment. These rules will reduce tariffs and red tape for New Zealand exporters and investors as well as future-proof competitive access for our companies.”
More information on PACER Plus will be available to business and the general public in a series of other upcoming public engagements on New Zealand’s full trade agenda.
More information about PACER Plus: www.mfat.govt.nz/pacer
Public engagement opportunities: www.mfat.govt.nz/tradeengagement
| A Beehive release || June 14, 2017 |||
Building trading contacts is at the top of the list for a delegation of businesses that arrives today in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, for a five-day visit.
The delegation consists of six companies, and is being led by Wellington Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive John Milford.
Members will attend the 70th anniversary of the Importers and Exporters Association of Taipei, before visiting the New Zealand Commerce and Industry Office (NZCIO), the Wellington Chamber's office in Taipei that is responsible for the development of trade, economic and cultural interests with Taiwan, given New Zealand does not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
Mr Milford will also visit the Confederation of Asia-Pacific Chambers of Commerce and Industry on behalf of the New Zealand Chambers.
Mr Milford said he hoped there would be opportunities for the company representatives to develop new trade contacts and cement existing ones.
"Taiwan is currently our 8th largest market for goods exports, and in the two years following the signing of our economic agreement with Taiwan, apples exports increased by 200 percent, cherry exports by 150 percent and wine exports by 56 percent.
"We also saw a 52 percent increase in our services exports since the agreement came into place in 2013.
"The opportunities for business in Taipei are endless, so I'm confident this trip will open new doors."
The delegation has been organised in partnership with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Wellington.
The Wellington Chamber operates NZCIO, which offers a range of support services for New Zealand businesses doing business in Taiwan, and Taiwanese businesses doing business with New Zealand.
| Wellington COC release || June 14, 2017 |||
Like the Chicago Cubs who endured decades of “wait until next year,” credibly both Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic should be positioned to fly paying passengers in late 2018. How will a successful commercial flight impact the economics of space tourism? What is the demand for such flights?
One key question for the space tourism industry is will there be repeat flyers? That is, until space tourism is a destination-based business (e.g. flights to a private space station or to the moon) will flyers pay to fly more than once after they have earned their astronaut wings? The answer to this is likely very dependent on the experience itself. If it can be enjoyed as a group experience with friends, families, coworkers, etc., it is more likely that there will be repeat flyers. This would bode well for capsule-oriented travel such as Blue Origin is offering and the high-altitude balloon vehicle offered by WorldView (in which I am an investor), but might be less conducive to Virgin Galactic. Without repeat flyers, however, the demand could rapidly wane after the initial early adopters have flown and the novelty has worn off.
Sponsorships
The case for sponsorships in commercial spaceflight is compelling and could dramatically impact the economics of space tourism. Global brands are looking for fresh, new ways to position themselves on the leading edge of their categories. Heineken and Red Bull have been the most prominent space backers to date, but once space tourism is more frequent, safe and mainstream, I would expect dramatically more sponsorships dollars to flow into the category, both to the operators and to a limited number of celebrity astronauts. With an average Fortune 500 marketing budget in the $50 million range, sponsorships could be a needle mover for the economics of the category and could ultimately be more lucrative than the ticket sales themselves.
Destination-based travel
The primary economic driver of space tourism in the long term, however, will be destination-based tourism. This remains a chicken-and-egg problem; the viability of a private space station, for example, is greatly enhanced by space tourism, but a private space station isn’t viable without reliable and economical passenger transport. And reliable and economical transport requires tourist demand predicated on viable destinations. Consequently, I would expect 2018 and 2019 to be almost exclusively suborbital travel until either new vehicles come on line that are more economical, destinations such as Axiom’s private space station materialize, or a combination of both. Certainly, SpaceX’s announced circumlunar trip could be the most significant space tourism mission to date, but at rumored $100 million-plus price tag, the demand for such missions remains very limited.
On the horizon
In addition to the vehicles currently known, the holy grail of commercial spaceflight remains a single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) reusable spaceplane. While many believe that this is a practical impossibility given the laws of physics, others claim advances in materials, propulsion and design allow this to be at least theoretically possible. If a vehicle were to emerge that could provide SSTO reusability, it would transform space tourism as we know it.
The bottom line is 2018 should finally be the year where we see the early stages of broad-based commercial space tourism appear. Demand will certainly be driven by the early successes or failures of those missions, the marketing of those missions, as well as the propensity for tourists to become repeat flyers. I would expect the early success to lead to a broader flow of investment into space tourism as a category with a directional push towards sustainable, destination-based space tourism in the early 2020s.
New Zealand is trumpeting a new trade and development deal for the Pacific - but will it boost the economies of the smaller countries, or undercut their development writes Sam Sachdeva Newsroom Pro's Foreign Affairs and Trade Editor.
After eight long years of negotiations, it’s finally time to put pen to paper.
New Zealand, Australia and 11 other Pacific nations are gathering in Tonga on Wednesday to sign the PACER Plus trade and development agreement.
Speaking ahead of the signing, Trade Minister Todd McClay hailed the deal as “a new era for closer economic relations in the Pacific”, saying it will cut red tape for Kiwi exporters while making the region more attractive for trade and investment.
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Five Question for UK vicar in British Industrial Heartland .........
Reverend Graham Sawyer (pictured) is well known in New Zealand as a BBC commentator, educator, and cleric. He is now a vicar currently based in the north of England. He now answers our Five Questions ....
1. You have been a Parliamentary candidate -and now you are a man of the cloth. Is the approach to religious extremism by the various authorities the correct one?
No. The response has been to create a climate of fear and to suggest that the "government" is protecting us. In fact, the cause of extremism is flawed foreign policy and economic colonialism e.g. the meddling in the Middle East by Blair and Bush. Rather than seeking to look at the causes of extremism the response by governments is to fuel the fear caused by extremists and thereby seek to give pseudo-legitimacy to the Western governments' failed foreign policies.
2. There is this constant call from leaders of all stripe to separate the terrorism from the underpinning religion?
The vast majority of people of faith are peace-loving and have peace at the centre of their religion. Terrorists of any kind will always take refuge in a book to justify their behaviours e.g. a religious or political text. Modern day fascists in Germany revert to Hitler's writings as much as some revolutionary Communists will revert to Marx. Those with a religious background will use a religious book for similar although dishonest purposes.
3. It is said that the three religions of the book at various historical times endure the throes of some kind of extremism or such zealotry. Are we witnessing this kind of surge now?
We are but it is always present. Think of the Crusades and also Christian biblical justifications from St Paul's writings for resisting the abolition of slavery. Christians have killed far more Muslims than the other way round in the name of Christianity. All religions of the book have parts of their scriptures that can easily be turned to give false legitimacy to extremist behaviour.
4. Do you go along with the theory that the present convulsions, now so evident on the streets of Western cities, represent in effect a striving for religious purity, pretty much regardless of where the victims originated, or, indeed, of their religion?
No. The real problem is the resurgence of nationalism as a result of frustrations with globalisation and austerity concomitant with the failure of capitalism. Think of the Treaty of Versailles after the First World War and the huge reparations inflicted upon Germany - these were the seeds of the Nazi rise to power. See today with the resurgence of fascism in Greece. So-called religious purity comes and goes but is often used by political opportunists.
5. Do you go along with the notion that Western governments are hampered in this matter, whatever its cause, by their need to appease their own doctrinal left wings?
No. Capitalism is the driving force. The un-elected European Union bureaucrats and economists dictate everything and it is the same in other developed countries (New Zealand is a very extreme example). The failure of their policies is causing the potential disintegration of the EU and the resurgence of nationalism and hence fascism in the West e.g. Greece, Hungary etc.
| From the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. || Tuesday 13 June 2017 |||
Auckland Airport will this evening welcome the first Sichuan Airlines flight direct from Chengdu, China. The new 13-hour direct service provides a seventh direct connection from Auckland Airport to a major Chinese city, and is the first to connect New Zealand directly to south west China.
While the Sichuan Province is traditionally famed for its dramatic landscape, spicy cuisine and for being home to the Giant Panda, its capital, Chengdu, is very much its modern face. Scott Tasker, Auckland Airport’s acting general manager – aeronautical commercial, says this first service to one of China’s major western centres is significant for both trade and tourism.
“Home to some 14.5 million people, Chengdu is one of western China’s most important economic centres and a key transportation hub. Therefore in addition to providing a unique cultural tourism opportunity for New Zealanders, this new route will open New Zealand to a broad new audience of Chinese travellers and support trade links between the two countries.”
“New Zealand now exports over $12 billion worth of goods and services to China a year, making it our second largest trading partner after Australia. The increased cargo capacity that Sichuan Airlines will provide between Chengdu and Auckland will enable further growth in the trade of high value goods between New Zealand and China,” says Mr Tasker.
In terms of tourism, the new service will add 81,000 seats a year to and from China, worth an estimated $102 million to the New Zealand economy.
Founded in 1986, Sichuan Airlines currently operates more than 240 routes, including long-haul services to Australia, Europe, Canada and the United States. This new Auckland route will be its longest direct flight yet, with the A330-200 featuring 24 business class flat-bed seats.
Whatever class of travel passengers choose, Sichuan’s General Manager for New Zealand, JC Shi, says they can expect to be thrilled by the authentic in-flight service.
“Sichuan cuisine is one of China’s four big cuisines, therefore we are delighted to bring the Sichuan flavour into the cabin. Authentic dishes such as hot pot, firewood chicken and barrel fish will be sure to delight and awaken the senses of first time visitors on board,” says Mr Shi.
The new direct service will operate year-round three times a week between Auckland Airport and China’s fifth busiest airport, Chengdu Shuangliu, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Tonight’s inaugural flight is scheduled to arrive at 6.45pm.
| An Auckland Airport release || June 13, 2017 |||
Palace of the Alhambra, Spain
By: Charles Nathaniel Worsley (1862-1923)
From the collection of Sir Heaton Rhodes
Oil on canvas - 118cm x 162cm
Valued $12,000 - $18,000
Offers invited over $9,000
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
Mount Egmont with Lake
By: John Philemon Backhouse (1845-1908)
Oil on Sea Shell - 13cm x 14cm
Valued $2,000-$3,000
Offers invited over $1,500
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242