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The Prime Minister and a host of Government ministers have shown up to the annual Fieldays event in Waikato with a set of announcements intended to lift rural sector productivity, while addressing climate and environmental concerns. They include contributing up to $51 million to accelerating the roll-out of technologies on to farms to reduce emissions and remain competitive in the global market. There’s also $59 million from the Government going into six commercial projects across dairy, sheep and beef, horticulture, forestry, whenua Māori, and aquaculture, which it says will “further lift productivity and returns through innovation and greater land use flexibility”. “Together, these projects matter because they will demonstrate, on real farms and orchards, what is possible when innovation, capital and ambition come together,” Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said. The series of announcements were made at the Mystery Creek Fieldays on Wednesday, where Luxon and other ministers were in attendance. The annual event, which had exhibition spaces sold out well in advance of kicking off today, is expected to see about 100,000 people come through the gates over four days. Among the announcements from the Government was dollar-for-dollar investment – up to $51m – into the Early Adoption Accelerator programme. It’s overseen by AgriZeroNZ, a public-private partnership launched in 2023 to help “farmers reduce emissions without compromising profitability and productivity”. Finance Minister Nicola Willis said the initiative meant “everyone has skin in the game and we are all backing innovation that can make a real difference on farms and ensure New Zealand agriculture remains globally competitive”. “New Zealand farmers are already among the world’s most emissions-efficient producers, this programme is about helping them adopt practical new technologies that support productivity, profitability and long-term competitiveness as global markets increasingly expect lower-emissions food and fibre production.” Agriculture Minister Todd McClay said AgriZeroNZ had to date invested $79.9m in 18 companies, research projects and trials to accelerate new tools, ranging from inhibitors to probiotics, pastures, animal wearables and vaccines. There is a pipeline of new technologies expected to roll out to farmers over the coming years, with the aim of reducing emissions while maintaining production. “One emissions reduction technology, EcoPond, is already available in New Zealand, with additional tools such as boluses expected later this year,” McClay said. “Other technologies, including methane inhibitors, probiotics and vaccines, are expected to follow over the next few years. “This is not about telling farmers what to do. It is about giving them more choices to adopt technologies that fit their farm systems and business models.” Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at the Fieldays at Mystery Creek. Photo / Jamie Ensor The Government also announced $143m – $59m from the Crown and $84m from the sector – would go into six commercial projects intended to improve land use flexibility, enable more innovation and sustain productivity while having a “better environmental footprint”. This includes the Government contributing $3.55m to a five-year project to boost beef and sheep production and $18.34m into a seven-year project to grow dairy output. The beef and sheep project includes supporting the transition from physical to virtual fencing, as well as modelling land use potential and analysing environment and performance data. The dairy project, which the Ministry for Primary Industries says will “demonstrate how farm systems can support profitable dairy farming with improved environmental outcomes”, is expected to deliver a 20% reduction in nitrogen leaching per hectare. Another example is a five-year project to “unlock greater value from kiwifruit orchards by integrating on-orchard innovation, advanced decision-support tools, and new science”. “It focuses...
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