Andrew Kempson, Fonterra’s General Manager of Global Climate Policy, discusses the Co-op’s careful and considered approach to rolling out novel technology on-farm.
A significant amount of technology has been introduced in the rural sector. It doesn’t seem that long ago that robotic milking, wearables, and methane inhibitors were considered science fiction. Now, novel technology is increasingly part of business-as-usual on-farm and is a large part of helping us reach our Climate Roadmap targets. The Co-op expects at least 7% of our 30% emissions reduction target to come from the use of novel technology.
The Co-op has always taken a proactive yet considered approach to how we approach and introduce novel technology into our farm systems. There are a lot of technologies available that are not relevant or that can have adverse consequences.
Fundamentally, Fonterra has five criteria that novel technology has to meet before we will consider researching, developing, or implementing it into our systems.
Good for the cow
The novel technology has to be beneficial for animal health and animal productivity, and be proven to maintain a resilient and profitable farming business. If it doesn’t do this, it doesn’t get past go.
Good for the milk
The technology must be properly regulated and in the Codex system, meeting standards, guidelines, and codes of practice, including food hygiene, nutrition, labelling, and maximum limits for contaminants and residues. We’re not going to take any risks. Think back to 2013 when the use of dicyandiamide (DCD) to prevent nitrogen leaching in pasture caused a furore when small amounts were detected in New Zealand milk products.
Good for the farmer
Whatever the novel tech is, it has to be practical and cost-effective to implement on-farm. We’re not interested in technology that is going to increase a farmer’s workload, require additional staff, or is not safe for the farmer to handle. If the cost significantly outweighs the benefits that come through the Co-operative Difference, then we will not progress with it.
Good for the planet
A novel technology might tick other criteria boxes, but if it’s not going to be sustainable and make a lasting positive difference to the land, then again, it’s a non-starter. We’ve turned down technologies that were proven to reduce emissions because they posed a risk to soil health. The novel technology has to be beneficial across the entire farm environment.
Scalability
We’ve had numerous novel technology opportunities with solid business cases and research behind them, but in practice, they were only relevant to a handful of farms. We need novel technology that can be scaled and implemented across the whole Co-op.
Novel technology in action
To get to the point of testing on-farm, a novel technology solution must have gone through a significant amount of testing and checking. Farm Source is incredibly well-positioned to achieve this. I’m excited to say we’re in the early stages of rolling out some novel technology solutions on Co-op farms that meet all our criteria and allow us to see how these work at the farm level and their scalability.
This includes a new effluent pond mobile dosing service to support farmers in reducing emissions and make progress towards on-farm emissions reduction targets. EcoPond uses polyferric sulphate and sulphuric acid to reduce and prevent methane emissions in effluent ponds.
Studies have shown the treatment can reduce a farm’s effluent pond emissions by at least 90%. Beginning next month, 200 farmers in Waikato and Southland will trial the scalability and effectiveness of the service.
Our continued investment in AgrizeroNZ is proving promising with extensive research and development into methane inhibitors for use in livestock and pasture. By the end of the decade, this research should be in the trial stage on-farm.
Farmers should be comforted that the Co-op has invested in the people and resources to assess novel technology and ensure it is practical, beneficial, and best for Co-op farms.