October update from NZPork

In a positive development for New Zealand’s pork sector, the Government has proposed excluding pig farming from agricultural emissions pricing.

We have been advocating on this issue for some time so we welcome this pragmatic and sensible decision by the Government.

In announcing the proposal earlier this month, the Government acknowledged that there would be too much uncertainty about the price pig farmers would face and there are limited emissions reduction practices for some pig farming systems.

Adapting a system designed for the dairy, sheep and beef sectors to be fit-for-purpose for pig farming would also have been complex.

Greenhouse gas emissions from pig farming account for just 0.2% of agricultural emissions in New Zealand every year. Emissions from pig farming differ significantly to emissions from pastoral farming because pigs are monogastric so they naturally produce much lower methane emissions than ruminant animals.

Our sector’s emissions are primarily driven by the methods used to store and treat effluent on-farm. For this reason, the volume and type of emissions can vary greatly between farms of a similar size.

Many of our farmers, where feasible, have already adopted emissions reducing technologies and practices, including significantly reducing methane emissions by covering effluent ponds. Ongoing improvements in production efficiencies continue to reduce our environmental impact over time.

Nevertheless, we remain focused on our goal to achieve carbon neutrality for commercial pig farms by 2050 and to support long-term emissions reductions across the pork supply chain.

As part of our climate change strategy, we are working on being able to measure our sector’s current emissions, identify and provide support for emissions reductions, support our farmers to use carbon credits to offset residual emissions and respond to the impacts of climate change.

In another boost for our sector, New World Te Rapa's New Zealand pork sausage was crowned joint winners of the Supreme Award at the 2022 Great New Zealand Sausage Competition. Although winning butcher Porsche Davis wasn’t revealing many secret ingredients, she did say “it’s made from New Zealand Pork”, which is great to hear.

Congratulations to New World Te Rapa. This is a huge vote of confidence in our farmers and the quality of born-and raised New Zealand pork, which is a cut above the rest.