Low emissions farm systems for the Māori farming sector


Project Leaders: Dr Tanira Kingi (Scion) & Phil Journeaux (AgFirst)


This project, aligned with the Integrated Farm Systems programme, aims to assist the Māori pastoral sector to improve its collective capacity to increase resource
efficiency and farm productivity while lowering greenhouse gas emissions.


Working together and sharing knowledge


The approach is to develop a set of Māori farm typologies which represent the predominant pastoral arming systems, identify key factors that underpin arm productivity, resource and emission efficiency and sustainable profitability, and then identify and test a range of mitigation strategies. Farm typologies are important to avoid the problems of homogenizing a heterogeneous group that range from very small farms to large multi-enterprise corporates. These typologies will be compared against existing databases and help in the selection of in-depth representative case study farms where emissions from alternative farm system configurations will be evaluated.


Farm system mitigation scenarios will be based on the interaction and knowledge sharing that will occur between the farmers (including land entities), scientists and industry advisors that will take place in case study workshops around the country.


A key contribution to the literature will be an enhanced understanding of the Māori farm typologies with economic, environmental, social and cultural implications of low emission farming systems within the Māori sector, with wider implications across NZ.


Four focus farms selected and work well underway


Progress to date includes:


	Development of a typology of Māori farming
	The collection of farm and GHG emission profiles on 29 Māori farms from around the country. This includes 18 sheep and beef (S+B) farms and 11 dairy farms
	The selection of 4 focus farms; 2 dairy (Bay of Plenty, Taranaki) and 2 S+B (Northland, East Coast)
	Agreement gained from Trustees of the 4 focus farms for participation in the project
	The development of Farmax files for each focus farm to allow for farm system modelling, and Overseer files to (a) establish the base GHG emission profile and (b) model the impact of change scenarios
	Data collated to allow for national benchmarking of the emission profiles
	Development of priority scenarios for modelling of change in farm systems and subsequent impacts on GHG emissions