Each year, Tokoroa dairy farmer George Moss tweaks the way he farms in order to be kinder to the planet.
George is a former climate change sceptic who has become a DairyNZ climate change ambassador.
George Moss Photo: RNZ/Carol Stiles
"Twenty years ago I would have said we have hot years and cold years but when you look at the weight of the body of science now, quite clearly humans are impacting significantly ... on the climate."
Part of a climate change ambassador's role is to inform farmers about climate change.
"But more importantly it's to lead and encourage change so we can do our bit as a nation and as an industry to reduce greenhouse gases because without a doubt agriculture makes up about 46-47 percent of the total greenhouse gas footprint for New Zealand."
George, who with his wife Sharon, farms 340 cows across two properties, says he hopes farmers will learn from his mistakes and will be keen to try some of the more successful changes he and Sharon have made to their farming operation.
George has reduced stock numbers, lowering methane emissions from fewer burping animals and has offset a drop in productivity by selecting only cows with superior milk production.
He has a sinking lid on nitrogen use and has halved the amount of nitrogen he applies from 240 kg per hectare 24 years ago to 119 kg now.
Regular soil tests ensure it is applied only when and where it is needed.
Planting has been established which George says will reduce nitrogen loss; he practices zero tillage to retain carbon in the soil and prevent nutrient run-off, has upgraded his effluent system and also has an ongoing programme to plant trees for shade and carbon.
And he uses a number of computer programmes to record data and continually analyse the business.
"So we are doing a lot of things that are compounding on each other. There's no quick fix. There's no silver bullet but each year through genetics, each year through sharper management, we make small gains that are incremental over time."
George says his message to farmers is that time is their greatest ally.
"The longer you leave change potentially the more radical that change has to be ... whereas if you do a small amount every single year on a trajectory of continual improvement, the impact on the business is potentially a lot less."
He says if extremely efficient farmers take steps to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions it may result in a drop in profit, but many others will be able to improve their environmental footprint as well as their incomes.
"The reality is if we take a look at the net worth of a lot of farmers, the vast majority of us sit in the top five percent of wealth in this nation and with that comes responsibility.
"We'll only eat this elephant if every one of us takes a bite," he says. "When you think how big the problem is, how challenging it is, there's a risk you think it's too hard, but it's not."
