Centre stage

The Government's commitment to responding sensibly to climate change and encouraging science and innovation was underlined recently when the Prime Minister and I opened the Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre in Palmerston North.

This centre marks a new era for agricultural emissions research.

It will support New Zealand in taking a significant leap forward in meeting the challenge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture while increasing productivity.

New Zealand must meet its international commitments to the Kyoto Protocol and it must support farmers and growers to achieve this through new technologies.
As a country we have the need, we have the expertise and now we have the channel through which we will meet our commitments and lead the world in pastoral livestock research.

The centre, established as part of the Government’s Primary Growth Partnership initiative, will receive $5 million of direct government funding each year for the next 10 years.

Dairy cow care

Animal welfare is high on the public’s agenda.

The public expects animals under our care to be well looked after and not to suffer unnecessarily. There is nothing complicated about these expectations.

Globally New Zealand has good standing when it comes to animal welfare and I am determined to safeguard that reputation.

In fact, I am committed to raising standards.

The new Animal Welfare Code for Dairy Cattle provides immediate animal welfare gains for the majority of dairy cattle in New Zealand.

It provides clear guidelines about the handling and management of dairy cattle and leaves farmers in no doubt about the standards of welfare they should meet.

It covers all areas of dairy cattle management from handling and husbandry practices, to food, water, shelter and health.

The dairy industry, with its involvement in developing this code, has taken a positive and proactive approach to animal welfare. Its continued leadership will be vital in ensuring that the standards in this code are met and even exceeded.

New chapter for wool

As Winston Churchill once said: “If we open a quarrel between the past and the present, we shall find that we have lost the future.”

And it is the future 35 wool sector leaders focused on, when they agreed to adopt the recommendations of the Wool Taskforce report Restoring Profitability to the Strong Wool Sector.

It is an encouraging step forward for the New Zealand wool industry and I’m hopeful it marks the beginning of a new chapter.

There has been robust discussion about the report, but everyone agrees that forming a ‘single voice’ to act on behalf of the industry is a vital first step in ensuring the sector’s future.

The answer doesn’t lie with any of the existing organisations, but rather with a clean slate approach.

I am now seeking an independent expert to work on forming a single body for the New Zealand wool industry. This convenor will begin the task of unifying an industry that has been fragmented for far too long.

Future-proofing with Tracing Scheme

We have recently given the green light to a livestock tracing scheme which will protect New Zealand’s excellent food safety reputation in international markets and help boost biosecurity.

The National Animal Identification Traceability (NAIT) project is a vital key towards future-proofing New Zealand agriculture.

It is primarily a data recording and collection system which will be compulsory, initially, for cattle farmers, followed a year later by deer farmers. It will start rolling out from October next year.

While NAIT has copped some flak, the decision is really a no-brainer. If we ignore the fact that most of our major trading partners already have animal ID systems in place and we fail to keep up, we will lose precious market share.

There will be a cost to farmers of around $2 more than what they are currently paying for non-electronic ear tags. But the focus is on ensuring that the tracing system is affordable for farmers and the wider industry.
The majority of farmers who I have spoken to agree that NAIT is an important step for New Zealand agriculture and I have been happy to see that many industry organisations also support the Government’s move.

New Zealand punches above its weight when it comes to accessing world markets and meeting the demands of our increasingly discerning consumers. NAIT is a logical step towards ensuring market confidence in our products and providing the best biosecurity protection and response possible.

For more information on the NAIT scheme you can visit the MAF website here or click here for a fact sheet.

Growing our Future

New Zealand farmers are sitting on a multi-billion dollar crop if the value of pasture renewal is anything to go by.

Last week I launched an economic report which shows that we could add $1.6 billion to the New Zealand economy by treating pasture as a crop, rather than something incidental to the business of creating meat, wool and dairy products. There was a great crowd of industry players there to hear about what pasture renewal can add to our economy.

The report, by the Pasture Renewal Charitable Trust, is the first on the value of pasture to the economy and the figures are very impressive. The Trust is working hard to fill a gap and improve knowledge of methods available and the implications that some often simple measures can have for farmers.

I hope that this report will encourage farmers to look at pasture development in a new way – as an essential part of their businesses.

Photo: Hon David Carter and Murray Willocks (Chairman of PRCT) with pasture examples

Saving the Mighty Kauri

Every Kiwi would agree that kauri is a treasured species that must be protected for future generations.

This made our recent pledge of $4.7 million to help save kauri threatened by a disease known as ‘kauri dieback’ all the more significant.

The total fund for the future management of kauri dieback now stands at $9.8 million, thanks in part to the support of several regional councils working closely with government agencies and Maori to combat the threat.

The disease is attacking kauri trees in the upper North Island and on Great Barrier Island. It is a serious biosecurity threat to kauri which, as New Zealanders, we are duty-bound to protect.

Our ancient kauri forests are a really important part of our ecosystem, as well as being part of our heritage. This funding will help us to maintain them into the future.

PGP Open For Business

On September 16th, I hosted a function at Parliament for around 100 people to officially launch the Primary Growth Partnership.

This major initiative, announced in the Budget, will see up to $140 million a year injected into primary sector growth and innovation. This is a huge investment for a country of our size, and it will bring huge benefits.

The Prime Minister and Bill Falconer, who will chair the Investment Advisory Panel, also spoke and both of them are very excited about the opportunities that PGP will bring to the primary sector.

Main players across the entire primary sector were at the function and people I spoke to were looking forward to getting involved in PGP.

This is the key to the success of the Primary Growth Partnership. It’s all about industry involvement; the PGP is truly a 50/50 partnership.

Since May, a lot of work has gone into developing the criteria for deciding the projects that will receive PGP funding, and the six-member Investment Advisory Panel is now up and running.

Bill Falconer is joined on the panel by John Brakenridge, Dr Kevin Marshall, Colin McKenzie, Joanna Perry and Jamie Tuuta. It’s great to have such an experienced team.

The Primary Growth Partnership is now open for business and I anticipate many fascinating and innovative ideas coming forward.

Smarter Borders

John Key and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd recently announced plans to make it easier to travel across the Tasman. This, of course, has major implications for biosecurity – in fact, if it didn’t, you could almost make trans-Tasman travel a domestic experience.

But New Zealand takes biosecurity very seriously because it is critical to our reputation and economy. A major breach of biosecurity would affect us all and this is why we need to be constantly reviewing the way we do things at the border. We can’t just accept that what we have now is the best we can do.

The trans-Tasman travel package includes measures that will deliver a better, smarter, and more efficient biosecurity system at our border.

The changes cover a new express arrivals lane for travellers identified as low biosecurity risk, a pilot of assessing/x-raying bags during flight time to allow quicker processing on arrival for passengers not carrying risk goods, and an increase in the instant biosecurity infringement fine, from $200 to $400.

Research done by MAF Biosecurity New Zealand shows that not all bags pose an equal level of biosecurity risk, with the majority presenting little or no risk and only 4% containing risk goods.

Don’t get me wrong, obviously we would prefer not to find any risk goods – but the reality is we need to deliver a smarter and more efficient biosecurity system.

You will notice changes to our biosecurity screening by the end of March next year – but don’t worry, one thing that won’t change is that our busy beagles will still be hard at work sniffing out any trouble.

Trip to Brussels and the UK

I’ve recently returned from a 10-day trip to Brussels and the United Kingdom. While it was great to escape the winter gloom here in New Zealand, there wasn’t much time to appreciate the European summer as I had a hectic programme of meetings with politicians, officials, farmers and major buyers of New Zealand goods.

Highlights of the trip included a lengthy meeting that Fonterra Chair Henry van der Heyden and I had with the EU Commissioner of Agriculture, Mariann Fischer Boel.

We covered a wide range of issues from subsidies and New Zealand’s experience of agricultural reform in the 1980s, to climate change and the prospects of resurrecting the Doha round.

I also had the opportunity to meet with my UK counterpart, the Rt Hon Hilary Benn, and Shadow Minister Nick Herbert.

In many ways, the standout event was the chance to attend the Royal Show and to host a New Zealand function there. The Show has been an iconic event on the British rural calendar, but sadly this year was its last.

Nonetheless, it was great to be able to see a cross-section of British agriculture, to meet many farmers and to promote New Zealand agriculture to a wide range of interests.

While much of New Zealand’s focus in recent times has been on developing new markets in Asia, this trip reinforced just how important our long-standing relationship with Europe, and particularly the UK, is. Although we have occasional differences of opinion, we face many of the same challenges and much can be gained from working together.

The trip also demonstrated beyond doubt the importance of integrity of the New Zealand brand. Repeatedly it was made clear to me that European consumers expect New Zealand primary produce to meet the highest standards of sustainability, animal welfare and food safety.

It is a simple equation - if we don’t continue to meet and exceed these expectations, we will lose market share. This is the challenge facing every New Zealand farmer and grower. And it is certainly my focus as the Minister of Agriculture.

Meat: The Future

Twice this year I’ve gone in search of some great tasting lamb and beef – first as a judge at the Glammies (Golden Lamb Awards) and then as a judge of the best steak at the Steak of Origin competition.

It’s not hard to guess that I enjoy eating Kiwi beef and lamb. It also explains my real interest in the recent launch of “Meat: the Future”, a MAF study that looks at the opportunities and challenges facing our meat industry.

The study points to a positive future for the sector – as long as it recognises that it needs to change. As I said at the launch, the status quo cannot remain for the industry.

It was good to see the study shows some optimism; two-thirds of those surveyed agreed that the meat sector would be a good investment in 15 years’ time.

Following the launch, I met with senior meat sector representatives to generate debate within the industry about where it heads from here.

Discussion was robust and productive. It is hopefully only the beginning of a process by which the meat industry – processors, farmers and other stakeholders – will work together to deliver higher returns to the sector.

My challenge to everyone involved is to think about where you want this industry to be in 10 to 15 years’ time. Solutions need to be driven by the sector, for the sector.