Climate change is an increasingly important issue for New Zealanders. Slowly but surely, it has become a more prominent force in the choices Kiwis make - including the meat they choose to buy.
According to the 2021 EY Future Consumer Index, 40% of Kiwis say they will prioritise the environment and climate change in how they live and the products they buy, while 26% said sustainability will be their most important purchase criteria in the next year.
That’s why Silver Fern Farms is meeting the moment by thinking more sustainably about the meat they produce and the changes that can be made without sacrificing quality.
Through its new purpose “creating goodness from the farms the world needs”, the company has re-launched its premium retail beef and lamb range to be Net Carbon Zero by Nature, a programme certified by Toitu Envirocare.
What is ‘Net Carbon Zero by Nature’ beef and lamb?
Silver Fern Farms’ programme is about ensuring the emissions made to put meat on plates are balanced out by growing and caring for native trees and woody vegetation back on suppliers’ farms.
When beef or lamb is produced, from the animal’s life on the farm to the disposal of meat packaging, gases are produced that contribute to climate change.
Silver Fern Farms is accounting for the climate impact of every kilogram of Net Carbon Zero by Nature product sold by incentivising and rewarding farmers for growing trees and caring for native bush on their land. This is detailed on every pack of beef and lamb on the shelf, each product also showing its carbon footprint.
Through this initiative, quality beef and lamb can still be produced while supporting farmers who care for their land and animals. Ultimately, Silver Fern Farms says it is about forming a strong connection between plate and pasture, and informing buyers about the care and attention that is given to animals and the land when producing quality meat.
Regenerating the land
In Te Kuiti, fourth-generation farmer Allen Johnstone and his wife Jo produce beef and lamb from Puketutu, their 2200 hectare property. The family-owned farm has worked alongside Silver Fern Farms since the company’s founding 75 years ago, and it is committed to sustainable practices.
After winning the Silver Fern Farms 2021 Plate to Pasture title, Allen and Jo became among the first farmers to pilot the Net Zero Carbon by Nature programme. For them, carbon sequestration and regenerating bush life are far from new concepts.
“It’s something we’re passionate about. Allen’s family before him planted trees, and we’ve carried that on,” Jo said.
“We’ve got a lot of patches of native bush, so what we’ve been doing is focusing on fencing them off and planting around the edges,” Allen added. “We’ve done a lot of that over time, it’s mainly around what’s already there on the farm. We’re trying to retire and restore some of the vegetation that’s there.”
Jo said some of that restoration has involved planting trees in areas no longer suitable for grazing, and even returning a wetland to its former glory.
“It was quite swampy. [Draining it] never really improved it, so we reverted it back and dammed it so it’s re-established as a wetland,” she said.
“In the last five years we’ve planted 35,000 native trees,” Jo said. “There’s no point not looking after our land, we’re very passionate about looking after it and I think most farmers are.”
A sustainable future for quality meat
Silver Fern Farms knows all its farms and livestock leave a carbon footprint. Net Carbon Zero by Nature is about being completely open about what that footprint is and encouraging and incentivising farming systems that can reduce that footprint and manage those emissions themselves. It’s giving people who want to eat red meat a choice to back and be proud of good farmers.
The company is continuously looking for ways to improve sustainability and the Johnstones say the farming community is following the same line of thought.
“As farmers, we are acutely aware that everybody is way more conscious about their environmental impact,” said Jo, “We’ve made lots of changes to our farming ‘way’ because things are changing and we’re becoming more aware of the effects of what we do on farms.
“For us, sustainability is about being able to do what we’re doing year after year for generations,” said Allen. “If you can’t keep doing what you’re doing, you’re not sustainable.”
As climate change becomes an increasingly pressing issue, Silver Fern Farms hopes its customers can feel good about the choices they’re making too.
This content was sponsored by Silver Fern Farms. Find out more about Silver Fern Farms Lamb and Beef Net Carbon Zero By Nature products.
SHARE ME