NZAGRC Changes Name To Ag Emissions Centre

The New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre (NZAGRC) has a new name. It will now be known as the Ag Emissions Centre.

Since 2009, the Ag Emissions Centre has led research to help farmers meet the growing challenge of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. The new name will make it easier for farmers and industry to find and engage with the science, tools, and support that will help them reduce emissions.

“As international expectations around emissions have grown, so too has the pressure on farmers to respond, and our work has evolved alongside them,” says Dr Naomi Parker, Executive Director of the Ag Emissions Centre.

“The new name is about being more visible, better connected, and more easily identified by the farmers, Māori agribusinesses, researchers, and industry partners we support. It reflects the Centre’s role as specialists in agricultural emissions, and the urgency of the challenge we’re helping tackle.”

While the name has changed, the Ag Emissions Centre’s core mission remains the same: shaping and funding research that can help farmers, government, and industry meet global demands for low-emissions farming. Its research portfolio includes a methane vaccine and inhibitors, nitrous oxide inhibitors, low-methane livestock genetics, and farm systems research.

Reducing agricultural emissions remains one of the most pressing issues facing New Zealand’s primary sector. Agriculture makes up over 50% of the country’s total emissions, and the pressure to demonstrate measurable reductions from global markets, customers, and trading partners is growing.

“Farmers are already feeling the effects of climate change and shifting market expectations,” says Dr Parker. “Our role is to help discover and develop the tools and knowledge New Zealand farmers need to stay competitive, protect their markets, and keep farming sustainably into the future.”

The Ag Emissions Centre will continue to operate as an independent unit within AgResearch, which will transition on 1 July 2025 to the new Bioeconomy Science Institute under the Government’s wider science system reform.

Existing contracts and relationships with research partners remain unchanged. Stakeholders will begin seeing the new name and branding, including new email addresses and website at ag-emissions.nz from 1 July 2025.

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