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10 Vet grads barely dent shortfall Vol 20 No 46, November 28, 2022
View online at farmersweekly.co.nz
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Zero carbon already a retail reality Richard Rennie
MARKETS
Sustainability
W
HILE debate continues to rage over what He Waka Eke Noa will look like, farmers in New Zealand need only look to the United Kingdom to see how Tesco’s zero-carbon moves are changing farm practices and supply chain expectations. Alice Ritchie, a Kiwi and Tesco agricultural sustainability manager for the UK’s largest food retailer, told Farmers Weekly the company has been watching developments here with interest, given NZ farmers supply over a third of the company’s lamb, making it NZ’s single largest UK lamb purchaser. Tesco has set an ambitious goal to be net carbon zero for its own operations by 2035 and has committed to a net zero carbon emissions from its supply chain and products by 2050. This has initiated widespread audits of food sources and practices in its complex global supply chain. Given NZ lamb’s sizable contribution to chiller space and its place among the big four emitting products of red meat, milk, poultry and pork, it will be the first in NZ to feel the weight of retailer expectations on how
farmgate emissions are managed down. “We have been very much focused on the UK, but we have to consider our complete supply chain, not just what is produced within the UK border,” Ritchie said. In the UK, she said, Tesco’s signals to farmers and processors have possibly been more pertinent than the British government’s signals on GHG reductions in farming. “The context is so different [in the UK] for agriculture. It is less than 10% of total gas emissions and 0.5% of GDP, but the government has been quite holistic in its approach offering subsidies and incentives to change to lower emitting, nature-positive practices.” That includes restoring hedgerows, planting trees, and encouraging biodiversity areas are based on subsidies that reflect conservation efforts rather than planted acreage. “We are starting to see farms running more mixed systems and more of a shift to regenerative practices, which a lot of people call a ‘New Zealand system’.” Tesco oversees sustainable farmer groups for most main protein and produce types in the UK. It also has a partnership with the World Wildlife Fund aiming to halve the environmental impact of
Levi Jennings, 17, takes a strong interest in government policy that affects what he wants to do in the primary sector. He would welcome the chance to vote if the voting age was lowered to 16.
NEWS 7
Supreme winner is all kinds of artist Farming and art are close to the heart of Amelia Dunbar, supreme winner at this year’s Rural Women NZ Business Awards.
PEOPLE 28 The primary sector has asked the government to review methane targets and the method by which they are set.
The growing agritourism industry offers rural communities a way to diversify income and increase resilience.
There was plenty of talk at the recent COP27 conference in Egypt but few solutions offered, Alan Emerson says.
POLITICS 4
NEWS 20
OPINION 25
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