New Zealand farmers are working hard to lead the world in sustainable farming practices, yet it seems that the government is still determined to undermine their efforts by using misleading accounting methods.

Since 2014 farmers have reduced the methane they produce at a rate which is far greater then what is required under the Paris accord, and it is very likely that the remaining N2O emissions are more than offset by the forestry on farms.

New Conservative have been advised that the New Zealand government is failing to credit farmers with the carbon sequestration of pre 1990 forests, which means that farmers are unnecessarily penalised. Small businesses in New Zealand would struggle to survive if they could not claim back the GST that they had already paid to suppliers and sub-trades. In the same way farmers must be credited for the good they do, not only penalised for the bad.

We call on the Minister for the Environment to give farmers an approximate figure, with calculations, of the forestry area required to offset any contribution agriculture is making to warming. This will give the industry a target to aim for.

“Looking after our hard working primary producers should be near the top of Government priorities,” says party leader Leighton Baker

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