Latest News

A new carbon calculator will be an invaluable tool for helping farmers to run their operations in a more sustainable manner. 

Developed by Lincoln University’s Agribusiness and Economics Research Unit (AERU) and engineering consultancy Agrilink, the calculator offers farmers a quick method for assessing their carbon footprint and discovering how their activities could be affecting the planet.

Around 98% of New Zealand farmers are not aware of their farms’ greenhouse gas emissions, and with the country discussing the possibility of implementing a zero carbon target, farmers face concerns about how this may affect them.

The calculator allows them to discover their impacts and supports them to make better choices, for their farms and the country, as they increase their efforts to run their operations more sustainably.

Carbon can be a very abstract concept, so the tool compares the impact of farm emissions to the environmental effect of long-haul flights between New Zealand and London, the distance travelled in a car, or the area that could be planted to offset their emissions.

It uses details such as farm size, stock number, fertiliser and fuel use to calculate methane and nitrous oxide emissions.  

The results appear as total CO2 equivalents.

Meridian Energy and Westpac NZ have provided financial assistance towards the development of the new product.

The greenhouse gas calculator was originally developed in 2008 to better inform the Food Miles debate.

It has now been updated to give farmers a quick approximation of their carbon footprint and is not intended to replace detailed greenhouse gas modelling tools.

AERU, established in 1962, has a core mission of exercising leadership in research for sustainable well-being. It operates as a semi-autonomous research centre at Lincoln University and provides research expertise to a wide range of regional, national and international organisations in the public and private sectors.

AERU’s research focuses on economic, resource, environmental and social issues. It employs its own research staff and coordinates some of the external research of academic staff from other Lincoln University faculties.

The new carbon calculator is available at www.lincoln.ac.nz/carboncalculator

Related

Appreciating the ‘little wins’

Appreciating the ‘little wins’

Otago high country farmer jack cocks has spent the past eleven years recovering from a life-threaten...

Read More
Summer reads: The Raging Storm

Summer reads: The Raging Storm

When Jem Rosco—sailor, adventurer and legend—blows in to the local pub, The Maiden’s Prayer, in t...

Read More
Farm reinvented as wedding venue

Farm reinvented as wedding venue

Once home to one of the country’s leading red deer herds, Mark and India van der Wilt have put Bang...

Read More
Spray options open up for farmers

Spray options open up for farmers

In a social media ‘news’ environment where fiction can quickly be taken up as fact, consumers want...

Read More
Persistent yields with Stampede CM142

Persistent yields with Stampede CM142

It’s disappointing when ryegrass fails to live up to its promise, leaving farmers frustrated and we...

Read More
Coastal challenge calling

Coastal challenge calling

With registrations now open for the 2023 Ruralco Longbeach Coastal Challenge the organising committe...

Read More




Account Selector