Hon Andrew Hoggard
Associate Minister for the Environment

Associate Minister Hon Andrew Hoggard visited Silver Fern Farms in Dunedin to hear how the company is responding to growing export market demand for credible nature and biodiversity outcomes.

"For many buyers, demonstrating real nature outcomes is becoming part of the licence to trade - affecting both access and price," Mr Hoggard says.

"We need approaches that are practical for farmers, stack up with buyers, and can be trusted."

Silver Fern Farms has worked alongside Government during the development of the Government’s approach to support expansion of New Zealand's voluntary nature and carbon markets. It’s also to help test what good practice looks like on farm and in market.

The Minister was briefed on Silver Fern Farms' nature-positive strategy and saw a demonstration by PRISM Earth — a joint venture with Lynker Analytics using remote sensing and machine learning to support on-farm decision-making and link biodiversity outcomes to export claims.

The visit also covered the Nature Market Accelerator, a market-led initiative to connect supply and demand for nature stewardship, aligned with Government's voluntary markets objectives.

"Nature positive production is fast becoming central to how New Zealand will be judged as a food producer," said CEO Dan Boulton. "The Nature Market Accelerator shows what's possible when Government and the private sector collaborate early."

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