Mike Cranstone with poplar trees planted for erosion control.
Opinion:
By Mike Cranstone
President Whanganui Federated Farmers
A well-reasoned conversation or debate, dominated by facts rather than assertions and emotion serves an important role in steering the future of any organisation. That organisation might be a household, a business, local council or New Zealand.
The democratic process has evolved over many generations, and previous generations have made huge sacrifices to defend it. Genuine consultation with communities and stakeholders is essential in writing good legislation and gives it the best opportunity to achieve its objective.
The Groundswell group was born out of frustration of unworkable regulations being written in Wellington without consultation with the farmers or even regional councils.
The Groundswell protests have had large turnouts in many towns and cities throughout the country. Organisers and many in the agricultural sector were concerned that the protests might be hijacked by other groups or even individuals with inappropriate billboards.
Despite strong messaging from the Groundswell leadership, it proved impossible to control the actions or messages of some individual protesters. Leading up to the protest the Groundswell Facebook page had a 13-point Code of Conduct with a list of approved banners.
Among tens of thousands of protesters, there are always some that will not follow the rules, but I hope people make the effort to look past these rogue examples to see the common message being expressed by many passionate New Zealanders.
New Zealand is very good at producing food for the world, our dairy products have a carbon footprint 52 per cent lower than the average of the world's dairy producers, and lamb is 26 per cent more efficient than the world average.
New Zealand is a significant food exporter with about 5 per cent of our agricultural production being consumed domestically.
Statistics can be used in a way to support any side of an argument. With a relatively low human population and an agriculture dominant economy, our emissions on a population-based metric are always going to look out of kilter, and do not acknowledge New Zealand's role of feeding the world with carbon-efficient food.
The latest Ministry for the Environment data informs that agricultural emissions have increased by 17 per cent since 1990. This is significant but NZ's transport emissions, dominated by long lived CO2, have soared by 90 per cent during the same period.
Farmers are not shying away from the task required. However, just as the nation's transport fleet cannot be decarbonised overnight, agriculture needs technological solutions to help reduce its carbon footprint.
Agriculture is often demonised as being controlled by large multinational business: in New Zealand this could not be any further from reality.
New Zealand farmers are often multi-generational families working alongside their staff for the success of their small businesses and the local community.
Much of their pride and passion is about caring for the land with the hope that one of their next generation will continue the family's stewardship.
There is some great environmental work happening on farms.
Landowners, predominately farmers, have gifted the use of 180,000 hectares of land to the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust. The conservation values of the land are protected for perpetuity.
Within our Horizons Regional Council area, The Sustainable Land Use Initiative has been a very successful example of environmental progress through co-operation rather than regulation.
Twenty-five million trees, many of which are space planted poplar poles on grazed hill country, have been planted over 49,000ha of erosion susceptible hill country.
Farmers are required to fund at least 50 per cent of the cost, with their contribution being $33 million since 2007.
All New Zealanders need to lift their environmental game, but farmers are engaged and there is real momentum already under way.
Impractical regulations which will cause significant disruption to how a farmer can farm will slow rather than build this momentum.