Kavanagh Farm, a farm project in New Zealand, aims to prove the viability of a profitable net-zero carbon emissions dairy farm, reporting a 27% reduction in absolute emissions and a 5% decrease in emissions per kilo of milk solids produced.
However, Greenpeace has criticised the project as a “marketing stunt,” arguing that it fails to address the significant issue of biogenic methane emissions generated by New Zealand’s large dairy herd.
Operated by Dairy Trust Taranaki, the Kavanagh Farm spans 210 hectares and milks 550 cross-bred cows near Fonterra’s Whareroa plant in Hāwera. The initiative is part of a ten-year pilot project, supported by Nestlé and Fonterra, with a goal to achieve net-zero emissions by the year 2030.
“If we get to net-zero and we’re not profitable, then the farm’s failed,” Farm Source programme manager Talia Grala said.
“Net-zero means all the emissions that are generated on a farm in a particular period are reduced as low as possible, and then the remaining emissions can be removed within the farm system.”
According to Grala, testing conducted by AgResearch indicated that the farm was making progress.
“What we’ve achieved is a 27% reduction in our absolute emissions,” Grala stated.
“Then if we look at the emissions and divide them by the amount of milk that comes off the farm, we are at a 5% emissions efficiency improvement.”
This progress has resulted in an 11–12% decline in milk production, prompting the farm to revert to a twice-a-day milking schedule.
Grala highlighted three primary areas being explored at Kavanagh Farm to reduce emissions: on-farm efficiency improvements, the adoption of novel technologies, and carbon removal, primarily through tree planting and carbon sequestration.
She explained that enhancing efficiency focuses on increasing milk production per cow through selective breeding.
“Testing indicates that the top 25% of our animals produce 16% less methane per kilogram of milk solids than those in the bottom quartile,” Grala noted. This suggests that there is significant potential for genetic improvement with the current cattle on the farm.
They had also adjusted the breeding program to ensure that more bobby calves were suitable for the beef industry.
“We are starting to work with Beef and Lamb on their dairy beef progeny test, and what that does is it looks at sires—dairy beef sires—that work well for the dairy industry as well as working really well for the beef industry, so that’s really focusing on our non-replacement calves strategy.”
In terms of technology, the farm recently installed a heat transfer unit that rapidly chills the milk while simultaneously heating water. This innovation is expected to lead to approximately 30% reduction in power consumption. While the unit has proven effective, it initially caused some load issues, necessitating additional work to enhance the electricity supply to the farm for optimal operation.
The farm had also invested in an EcoPond solution for its effluent.
“It has cylinders in it, and half of the cylinders are getting an additive applied to them—an iron sulphate—and what it does is stop the methanogens from producing methane in the effluent pond.”
Grala said testing has shown that methane emissions from the pond have decreased by 93%.
Despite this move, Greenpeace agriculture campaigner Sinéad Deighton-O’Flynn stated that Fonterra and Nestlé’s net-zero farm essentially represents conventional farming with minor adjustments.
“They are not really addressing the giant cow in the room, which is the biogenic methane coming from the oversized dairy herd,” Deighton-O’Flynn said.
She noted that the farm continues to utilise harmful inputs like synthetic nitrogen fertiliser, which is damaging waterways throughout the country, as well as feed sources such as palm kernel.
Deighton-O’Flynn emphasised that insufficient action is being taken to tackle the fundamental problems associated with the intensive dairy model.
“This is one farm out of thousands across the country, and Fonterra is the country’s biggest climate emitter, and they really need to be doing more than applying these practices to one farm.”
She also proposed that the most effective way to safeguard the climate, protect land and water, and promote human health is to decrease the number of livestock, transition to systems that are primarily plant-based, and provide support to farmers in adopting more ecological practices.
Meanwhile, Grala mentioned that other initiatives being pursued at Kavanagh Farm involve sowing 15% of the pasture with the grazing herb plantains, along with clover and rye grasses. This herb has a lower dry matter content compared to some other pasture species, which means that as cows consume it, their urine contains less nitrogen, resulting in significant benefits for water quality.
A silvopasture trial, which is focused on grazing beneath trees, is also in its early stages at the test farm, utilising kānuka and griselia. The concept is that as these trees mature, they will offer valuable shade and shelter, which is increasingly important as heat stress becomes a growing concern in New Zealand. When cows become overheated, their milk production declines; however, there are some considerations to keep in mind.
Diego Gomez, general manager of Dairy Trust Taranaki, expressed optimism that the test farm would achieve its goal of zero emissions by 2030.
“The EcoPond has shown really good results just lately, and the silvopasture was also quite promising, and the genetic improvement that has been going on on this particular farm has also been showing really good signs.”
“We are people from the land, and we want to give back to the land,” he added.