Climate Change

20 February 2022

Aotearoa committed to the international global agreement to take action on climate change under the Paris Agreement which came into force in late 2016 and took effect from 2020. Under this agreement we have committed to halving our current net greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2030. To help meet this target, our primary industry will be required to measure and manage its greenhouse gas emissions or be introduced into the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Doing nothing is not an option – the Government has already decided to price agriculture emissions. As a primary industry we need to be proactive so that any scheme developed has our input and is entered into on our terms.


A Primary Sector Climate Action Partnership – He Waka Eke Noa – has been formed between the government, Iwi and primary industry to reduce agricultural emissions. This partnership is our industry’s best opportunity to design a sustainable alternative to the NZETS, for farmers and growers to report, manage and reduce their agricultural emissions.


This partnership, which is in its second year, is creating a practical framework in which agriculture, horticulture and arable farms will account for their emissions and adapt to climate change.


This includes: 

  • a pricing system for agricultural greenhouse gas emissions as an alternative to the ETS;
  • a system for reporting on-farm emissions;
  • an approach for recognising on-farm sequestration; and
  • farm planning guidance and other supporting research and extension activities.


However, in order for the government to accept this framework and a suggested pricing mechanism, the partnership must meet a number of milestones. If the legislated milestones aren’t being met, the Government can bring agriculture into the ETS at the processor level before 2025. If the farm-level pricing system is not in place by 2025, agriculture will come into the ETS at the processor level. 


These milestones, and the dates they must be met by, are:


31 December 2021         

25% of farms must know their annual total on-farm greenhouse gas emissions – “your number”.


1 January 2022                 

25% of farms must have a written plan in place to measure & manage their greenhouse gas emissions.


31 December 2022         

100% of farms must know their annual total on-farm greenhouse gas emissions.


31 December 2024         

100% of farms must have a written plan in place to measure & manage their greenhouse gas emissions.


1 January 2025                 

100% of farms are using the accounting and reporting systems to report their 2024 emissions. 


The partnership has defined a farm for this purpose as:

  • all farms over 80ha (includes pastoral, horticultural, arable);
  • all dairy farms with a milk supply number; and
  • all feedlots. 


This captures around 25,000 farms. It is important to note that this is not a final definition of a farm. For the purposes of pricing agricultural emissions, properties that are outside of this current definition may still be included in the scheme.


What is “your number”?


If you haven’t already, now is a good time to find out what your annual total on-farm greenhouse gas numbers are. You will have to know this information by December 2022. 


There are 10 assessed greenhouse gas calculators available: Farmax, Overseer, Beef + Lamb NZ GHG Calculator, Fonterra/AIM, Hort NZ, Foundation for Arable Research, Ministry for the Environment (MfE), Alltech, E2M and Toitū. These systems all vary in complexity & level of detail, and which one you use will depend on what part of the industry you are in.


These models require data to be entered relating to livestock numbers and movements, fertiliser use, cropping practices and vegetation areas able to be offset to mitigate your greenhouse gas outputs. This may seem overwhelming but you are surrounded by an advisory team that can help you: Dairy NZ, Beef + Lamb NZ, Horticulture NZ, FAR, your bankers, consultants and accountants. 


It is essential that the He Waka Eke Noa partnership is successful in ensuring NZ farming isn’t forced into the ETS at a processor level. Being able to account for your emission mitigations at a farm level will help to reduce the cost to your farm business. He Waka Eke Noa is also recommending that revenue generated from greenhouse gas pricing is recycled back into research and development in the agricultural sector which will further help to reduce emissions.


We are here to help you work out the requirements you need to meet. Call us at any time.

Healthy thinking for better farming

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Christmas Message from Gunson McLean

by Gunson McLean • 13 December 2022
What a year it is has been! 2022 has certainly had its challenges. While it has been one of the busiest (and most stressful) years to date, it has also provided us with many reasons to be thankful. We’d like to take this time to thank you for being with us through this year. It’s been our pleasure working with you and we hope to continue our relationship with you for many years to come. The Gunson McLean team will be taking a well-earned break from 3pm on Friday 23 December and reopening on Monday 16 January.  May you have a peaceful and relaxing Christmas and holiday season and we’ll see you in 2023.

Could an overseas worker fill a vacancy at your business?

by Gunson McLean • 12 December 2022
It’s tough to hire new staff at the moment – the labour shortage has reached a critical level, with record employment, and very low immigration. If you’re having trouble filling crucial job vacancies at your business, you might still be able to employ someone from overseas. Migrants already in New Zealand Migrants already living in New Zealand, who have visas, have had their visas extended. They can usually work for any employer, although they may be some restrictions depending on the individual visa. You can find out more about employing migrants already in New Zealand here . Bringing in an employee from overseas As an employer, you can also bring workers into New Zealand. This requires an investment of time and money, but it can be worthwhile if you are really struggling to find someone for that pivotal role. There is quite a long list of approved classes of critical workers, and you can request entry if you’re looking for someone in one of these jobs. This includes tech. sector workers, vets, advanced manufacturing specialists, auditors, and many more (you can see the full list here ). The role you’re offering needs to be paying at least $27 an hour for these approved classes of workers, and you need to demonstrate that you can’t find someone local to do the role. You can also employ other workers, whose roles aren’t on that list, but you’ll need to pay at least $40.50 an hour and, also, show you couldn’t find a Kiwi to do the job. One option is to use an agency to help guide you through the process of bringing in an overseas worker to fill a role within your company. Expect this to take up to three months and cost up to $10,000. Is it worthwhile going through this process? Considering the time and money involved, would it be worthwhile to hire from overseas? We can help you run a cost-benefit analysis to see whether it stacks up. We also have ideas for ways your business could become more productive, through systems or tweaks, to help get the most from your current team. We’d love to help you build a more profitable business, so give us a call.
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