Two good news stories - the bigger than expected dairy exports statistics and Fonterra plans to build a big new processing plant in the South Island stand in sharp contrast with another article in The Press, one suggesting that Government was considering restrictions on the size of dairy herds "The situation was so dire the Government said yesterday it was considering regulations that could see farms shrink and limits on the size of dairy herds."
The Greens and some in Government may not like it but dairy farming remains one of the key drivers of our economy and attempts to restrict the growth in dairying restrict New Zealand's economic growth potential. On reflection, maybe they do like this fact and could this be their actual motivation?
The Hive recommends extreme caution in this area. By all means work to improve farm practices so that some of the negative environmental effects - eg water quality - are corrected, but don't do anything to hamper growth in the sector until we get a clearer picture of the overall greenhouse gas impact of dairying in New Zealand compared to other producers. There is a potential win/win here. It may be better for the world for dairy to be restricted elsewhere and expanded in New Zealand. New Zealand's greenhouse gas production might be higher than it might otherwise be, but global emissions might be lower as a result.
The worst possible outcome would be a policy which saw dairy restricted in relatively efficient New Zealand, forcing less efficient producers in Europe, US, Asia etc to expand production. Little old New Zealand would be proud of its world leadership and clean green image, but the global problem will be exacerbated. This is a global problem isn't it?
