Will consumers pay a premium to food producers doing the right thing by the environment? For most of us, it’s an intriguing conversation starter. For Mike and Sharon Barton, their very future hangs on the answer.

The Bartons run an award-winning 142 hectare sheep and beef property on Taupo’s western shore, where a strict cap on nitrogen discharge has been in effect since 2011. Known colloquially as the ‘N Cap’, it was imposed by the Waikato Regional Council in a bid to limit nitrogen leaching into the lake through Taupo’s highly porous pumice soils. Because most of the nitrogen load can be traced back to animal urine, it’s effectively a cap on stocking rates, and hence productivity.

The Bartons began to truly appreciate what the cap meant for them in 2007, when Mike in his role as chairman of a local farming collective was asked to give evidence at an Environment Court hearing. Using financial records from their own farm and five others in the catchment, and assuming rising costs, static incomes and capped livestock, he modelled the likely economic impact. His conclusion? Worst case, they’d all be insolvent within a decade.

Continue here to read the full article by Matt Philp on Pure Advantage