DairyNZ is kicking off 2022 with a He Waka Eke Noa (the Primary Sector Climate Action Partnership) roadshow next month.
He Waka Eke Noa is a world-first partnership, established in response to the Government's proposal to price agricultural greenhouse gas emissions through the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS).
He Waka Eke Noa released a discussion document in November 2021 with two options for farmers to consider as alternatives to the NZ Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS).
As part of the formal consultation on those options - the farm-level levy and the processor-level hybrid level – DairyNZ, Beef + Lamb New Zealand and Federated Farmers will be hosting a nationwide roadshow to get farmer feedback.
The roadshow was a chance to take a look at the feedback that farmers had submitted, DairyNZ chair Jim van der Poel said.
"We really started engaging with farmers before Christmas and farmers have really been able to give us feedback. We have started to take some of that feedback on board," he told The Country's Rowena Duncum.
DairyNZ chair Jim van der Poel. Photo / Supplied
"We will share our latest thinking around this when we engage with them in February."
The way the legislation was currently drafted meant "doing nothing was not an option," Van der Poel said.
"Agriculture is going into the ETS. We think that's a bad decision for both New Zealand and for farmers."
While DairyNZ thought He Waka Eke Noa was a "much better way" of dealing with the ETS, it was up to farmers to make the call, Van der Poel said.
"The decision for farmers will be whether they're happy to just continue to go into the ETS or whether they're happier to support us going into He Waka Eke Noa."
While emissions pricing was unavoidable, one issue with the ETS was that farmers wouldn't get a say in the pricing mechanism, Van der Poel said.
"It's not as if farmers have got a choice here around whether their emissions will be priced or not - what we have to do is make a decision about whether we'd rather have that price through the Emissions Trading Scheme or through another mechanism that we're proposing - He Waka Eke Noa."
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A DairyNZ webinar is also taking place at 7pm next Wednesday called "Crunch time on ag emissions pricing".
The webinar is the second episode of DairyNZ's Farmer Forum series and will be an open discussion around the He Waka Eke Noa price options, with options for farmers to ask questions of experts.
"We really encourage farmers to come to these meetings, to become better informed but also be able to have their input," Van der Poel said.
"For those farmers who can't - or after the event ends and they think of something [they wanted to say] they can also give us some feedback directly online."
DairyNZ aimed to put the proposal to the Government by the end of April, Van der Poel said.
