New Zealand farmers could be using selective breeding, methane inhibitors and even vaccines to help reduce their greenhouse gas emissions within a decade. Dr Harry Clark, director of the New Zealand Greenhouse Gas Research Centre, said several hi-tech solutions to the agricultural emissions problem were likely to be widely available to Kiwi farmers within 10 years. READ MORE:* Farmers still lack practical solutions for greenhouse gas emissions* Farmers want to cut emissions but don't know how, report finds* Reducing greenhouse gas emissions a priorityThe launch of a website aimed at helping farmers assess and manage on-farm emissions was timely in light of the Government's proposal to implement farm-level pricing of emissions by 2025, Clark said. The Farming Matters site focuses on methane, which makes up 70 per cent of New Zealand's agricultural emissions, but will expand to include information on nitrous oxide, another significant agricultural greenhouse gas, and strategies for adapting to climate change. Efficiency gains already made across the sector meant New Zealand's total agricultural greenhouse gas emissions were no longer increasing but not all farms had the same potential to further reduce emissions, he said.

Source: Stuff July 19, 2019 17:01 UTC