B+LNZ is working with Triple Pundit/3BL, a professional digital content distribution platform, on a series of sponsored articles to highlight what the world can learn from New Zealand about sustainable agriculture.
New Zealand is leading the world in its sustainable agriculture practices – a message Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) is sharing with thousands of global stakeholders.
B+LNZ has partnered with Triple Pundit/3BL, a professional digital content distribution platform, to produce a series of sponsored articles that highlight the country’s sustainable farming systems, its aspirations for the future, and what the rest of the world can learn from its vision for a resilient food system that’s gentler on people, animals and the planet.
These articles seek to secure media coverage among a global audience of environmental, social, and governance (ESG), corporate social responsibility, and sustainability stakeholders.
Michael Wan, B+LNZ’s Global Manager – New Zealand Red Meat Story says by sharing our success stories and best practices, the articles help position New Zealand as a leader in sustainable agriculture to an increasingly important audience while educating them about New Zealand’s unique grass-fed farming systems.
“This is a collaborative effort with our export partners and features some of our leading farmers. The articles highlight their sustainability initiatives as well as the support our research industry plays in enabling improved outcomes,” says Wan.
The next article will focus on New Zealand’s animal welfare standards and regulations, including the New Zealand Farm Assurance Programme (NZFAP) and is due to be released early-July.
Standards for Sustainable Agriculture: Insights from New Zealand
The latest instalment in the series, ‘Standards for Sustainable Agriculture: Insights from New Zealand’, dives into the groundbreaking initiatives undertaken by Silver Fern Farms, such as Net Carbon Zero meat products and its Māori development framework.
In this article, Silver Fern Farm suppliers, Jeff and Diane Cleveland of Brae-Lynn Farm, explain why they choose to care for their environment through a holistic ecosystem lens to create a better-quality product.
“Nature-positive [farming] resonates with us because it’s about looking after our soils, our pastures and our waterways,” said Jeff. “It’s about knowing the limitations of our farm and land, and farming within those limitations, not exceeding what it’s capable of.”
Regenerative Agriculture Standards can address consumer confusion while bolstering farmers
The second article, ‘Regenerative Agriculture Standards Can Address Consumer Confusion While Bolstering Farmers’, looks at how important it is to set standards for regenerative agriculture to reward farmers who are implementing these practices.
In this article, Pat Maher, CEO of Atkins Ranch says regenerative practices like rotational grazing began in New Zealand in the 1960s. “All of our farmers operate through a rotational grazing model. What we're working on now is actually making sure that we can verify those farming systems.”
B+LNZ’s GM Market Development Nick Beeby says, “Ensuring regenerative standards and the environmental outcomes can be independently audited and verified is critical to creating trust between farmers and consumers.”
New Zealand leads the way on Regenerative Agriculture methods
The first article, ‘New Zealand Leads the Way on Regenerative Agriculture Methods’ published in March, examines how New Zealand farming systems naturally lend themselves to regenerative agriculture practices.
The article demonstrates how these farming systems contribute to New Zealand producing some of the most carbon efficient beef and lamb in the world, whichever method you use to measure it (GWP100 or GWP*), as proven by B+LNZ’s Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study, undertaken by AgResearch.
When taking into account the entire value chain, the carbon footprint of New Zealand lamb is around 14.7 pounds of CO2e per pound of meat vs the global average of 40 pounds of CO2e per pound. While New Zealand beef comes in at22 pounds of CO2e per pound in comparison to the global average of 100 pounds of CO2e per pound, according to a 2021 research review.