Tag Archives: environment

Refreshed toolkit for land and environmental management

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New Zealand farmers have a refreshed version of the Land and Environment Planning (LEP) toolkit to help them manage land and environmental issues on their farms.

Produced by Beef + Lamb NZ Ltd (B+LNZ), the toolkit was launched at an event in Christchurch at the end of last week by Minister for the Environment Amy Adams.

The tool helps farmers identify actions to improve production through good environmental management of the land, soil and water resources, says B+LNZ chief executive Scott Champion. “These plans can help them meet regional council requirements too in all parts of the country.”

The sheep and beef sector is an important contributor to the New Zealand economy, producing $7.5 billion a year in export returns. “Consumers in New Zealand’s red meat sector export markets value this country’s commitment to environmentally sound practices,” says Champion.

A copy of the toolkit can be downloaded here.

 

Congratulations to the Smiths

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Congratulations go to Otago sheep and beef farmers Blair and Jane Smith for winning the national title in the 2012 Ballance Farm Environmental Awards earlier this week.

The Smiths were awarded the Gordon Stephenson Trophy, having been chosen from nine regional supreme winners.

The award is sponsored by Beef and Lamb NZ Ltd (B+LNZ) because of its focus on showcasing farmers working sustainably and caring for the environment, says B+LNZ chief executive Scott Champion.

“This is the second year in a row that sheep and beef farmers have won the national trophy – Grant and Bernie Weller of Southland won it last year and undertook a B+LNZ-supported visit to Europe where they met industry representatives in key markets and had the opportunity to share their farming practices.

“We will be working with Blair and Jane Smith in the months ahead to ensure their great story of farming in an environmentally, economically and socially sustainable way is heard both within and beyond the sector,” says Champion.

Read more about the Smiths and their award here.

Innovative waste reduction project? Apply here

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Meat companies developing initiatives that increase the reuse, recycling or recovery of waste material are among the organisations being invited to apply to the Waste Minimisation Fund.

“This is a chance for organisations with an innovative project to apply for support from the government to give their project a head start,” Environment Minister Amy Adams says.

Since the first funding round opened in 2009, the fund has awarded about $20 million to more than 60 projects.

To receive funding, projects need to increase resource efficiency or reduce the amount of waste sent to New Zealand’s landfills. The current round is open until 19 June.

Money for the WMF comes from the waste levy charged on material disposed of at New Zealand landfills.

For more information about applying for the fund, click here.

Carbon labelling dropped

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News from the UK suggests that supermarket giant Tesco has dropped its carbon labelling scheme after four and a half years, after discovering it was taking too long and costing too much money to document each of its 70,000 products. Only about 500 of the products are labelled, with a further 1,500 in the pipeline. The company retains its commitment to carbon footprinting, but will be shifting to global supply chain issues instead.

Second annual conference for NZAGGRC

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The New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre‘s second annual conference was held in Palmerston North on 31 January 2012. Eighteen speakers presented on research progress at the event, which drew New Zealand scientists, international experts, policy makers and industry representatives together to implement effective, practical solutions to mitigate agricultural greenhouse gas emissions.