Half of NZ's dairy emissions could be reduced with this breakthrough! I Mike Manning, Ravensdown
- S3E22
- 27:48
- November 29th 2021
As the COP26 Climate Change Summit has concluded, a serendipitous scientific finding at Lincoln University virtually eliminates the methane emitted from effluent ponds and if uptook by 2030 will half dairy's emmission targets.
As this week's Sarah's Country Change Maker, Mike Manning, General Manager Innovation and Strategy at Ravensdown, explains the breakthrough discovery of the EcoPond system to target methane with an additive normally used in the treatment of drinking water.
Nearly all dairy farms use effluent ponds and they are the second-largest source of on-farm methane emissions. An average NZ dairy farm of around 400 cows that installed EcoPond could cut total farm methane emissions by about 4 to 5%, depending on the individual farm.
They also found that EcoPond reduced the risk of Dissolved Reactive Phosphate loss to water by up to 99% meaning that this essential nutrient can be recycled with reduced risk of water contamination. The EcoPond system also strips out E.coli so that the dairy effluent is much safer to irrigate to pasture.
Thanks to our mates at Farmlands Co-Operative for partnering with Sarah's Country this season!
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As a leading voice in New Zealand agriculture, Sarah Perriam has worked for over a decade behind & in front of the camera in rural media, recognised for her extraordinary commitment to progressing the conversation of farming food and fashion-forward with an open heart & open mind.
Sarah has led an impressive career well-known from her nation-wide role as a radio host and a rural commentator on the AM Show.
It was through this pivotal part in her career she was thrust into a position of representing the role females play in the growth of agribusiness & global trade whilst balancing an important emotive and educated discussion with our consumers around farming.
Sarah is both a host of the popular show 'Sarah's Country' and businesswomen with her production agency, Perriam Media with a team of 7 and a video & radio studio in Canterbury New Zealand.
Sarah’s Country is produced in a strategic alliance with the country’s largest rural newspaper, Farmers Weekly, broadcast LIVE 7 pm three nights a week and on-demand on the podcast to an audience of 70,000. She discussing the matters that matter most to passionate producers of food & fibre with open hearts & open minds.