New Zealand dairy industry one step closer to net zero

Fonterra and Nestlé have announced a new partnership designed to help reduce New Zealand’s on-farm emissions, including a drive to develop a commercially viable net zero carbon emissions dairy farm.

Over a five-year project, the farm, run with co-partner Dairy Trust Taranaki, will examine all aspects of farm operations to reduce carbon with the aim of cutting emissions by 30% by mid-2027, and a 10-year ambition of reaching net zero carbon emissions.

The demonstration farm at the centre of the project is a 290 ha property surrounding Fonterra’s Whareroa site.

With solutions that may benefit not only the environment, but also the farmer, the cow and the milk, Dairy Trust Taranaki will work with Fonterra and industry partners to reduce total emissions on the farm, including methane.

Lessons learned will be shared with farmers during open days, allowing them to adopt the techniques and technologies that are most appropriate for their own farms. Practices must be economically viable and practical for farmers to adopt.

Fonterra CEO Miles Hurrell said the collaboration will help both Fonterra and Nestlé accelerate progress towards their greenhouse gas emission goals.

“New Zealand already provides some of the most sustainable nutrition in the world through its pasture-based dairy system. This new partnership will look at ways to further reduce emissions, increasing the country’s low-emissions advantage over the rest of the world.

“Part of our strategy is to lead in sustainability and we aspire to be net zero by 2050. We know we will make bigger gains, for both the Co-op and country, by partnering with others. Working with partners such as Nestlé is our best opportunity to create innovative solutions to local and global industry challenges.

“As well as our own goals, it’s important we help our customers achieve theirs. Nestlé has ambitious plans and we look forward to working together to discover systems that could help our farmer owners to continue to build on the already good base they have.”

Nestlé New Zealand CEO Jennifer Chappell said the Taranaki farm would build on Nestlé’s work around the world to help transform the dairy industry.

“Dairy is our single biggest ingredient, and our vision is that the future for dairy can be net zero,” Chappell said.

“To reduce our Scope 3 emissions, it’s critical we work with dairy farmers and their communities. For this reason, we have over 100 pilot projects with partners around the world, including in New Zealand, and 20 farms already striving towards the ambition of net zero emissions.

“Working towards a net zero farm means looking at all aspects of the farm, from cow nutrition to sequestering carbon. We will share what we learn on the journey across the dairy industry, with the goal of ultimately mainstreaming on-farm practices that will reduce the climate impact of the dairy industry.

“This will contribute to Nestlé meeting our goal to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, including reducing our emissions by 20% by 2025 and 50% by 2030.”

The partnership encompasses the launch of a greenhouse gas farmer support pilot program. This multi-year project will see enrolled Fonterra farms get additional support in implementing changes aimed at lowering on-farm emissions, which may include solutions such as improved management of feed and pasture and enhanced milk production efficiency.

The opt-in pilot will start with around 50 farms and then be scaled up over the next three years.